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CONSOLATION: 


IN 


DISCOURSES  ON  SELECT  TOPICS,  ADDRESSED 
TO  THE  SUFFERIISG  PEOPLE  OF  GOD. 


BY 


JAMES  W.  ALEXANDER,  D.  D 


SIXTH  EDITION. 


NEW    YORK: 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER,  124   GRAND  STREET. 

1864. 


Entkbed,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1852,  by 

CHARLES   SCEIBNEE, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 

Southern  Distnci  of  New-York. 


■2  s^/^'  ^ 


r 


i 


CONTENTS. 


1'A.es 

BEFACB  .....••  9  7 


L 

God's  Everlasting  Mercy  a  source  of  Consolation       11 

n. 

The  Providence  of  God  a  ground  of  Consola.tion  .       36 

in. 

The  same  Subject  in  its  AprucATioN  to  the  whole 

Path  of  Life         ......      59 

TV 

The  Omnipotence  of  God  a  ground  of  enlarged 

Christian  Expectation '*'S 


CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

The  Goodness  of  God  a  Refuge  in  time  of  Trouble     109 


VI. 

The  Soul  sustained  by  Hope  kising  to  Assurance    .     133 

Eest  in  God ,    157 

VIII. 
(yHBisTiAN  Joy  expelling  the  Distresses  of  the  Soul    181 

:x. 

Consolation  derhhed  from  the  Uses  of  Chastisement    211 

X. 

The  Holy  Submission  of  Christ's  "Will  considered  as 

A  SOURCE  of  Consolation       ....     239 

XI. 

Consolation  from  God's  Promise  never  to  forsake    259 

xn. 

The  Believer  sustained  by  the  Strength  of  Christ    279 


CONTENTS.  O 

XIII. 

PAGE 

The  Compassion  of  Cheist  to  the  Weak,  the  boR- 

ROWING",  AND  THE   SiNFUL  ....      299 

xiy. 

Consolation  under  the  Judgments  of  Men      .        .     321 

XV. 

Consolation  derived  from  a  Review  of  Christian 

Martyrdom 343 

XVI. 
The  Aged  Believer  consoled  by  God's  Promise       .     367 

XVII. 
Consolation  in  regard  to  the  Saints  Departed       .     389 

xvm. 

All  Consolation  traced  up  to  ns  Divine  Source    .    423 


P  R  E  f  A  C  E . 

T)  E A  SONS  miglit  be  given,  if  it  were  seemly  and 
important,  wliy  the  mind  of  the  writer  has  been 
strongly  drawn  towards  this  particular  subject.  It 
is,  however,  sufficient  to  say,  that  in  the  course  of  a 
ministry  which  now  oversteps  the  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, he  has,  like  his  brethren,  often  felt  it  to  be  his 
obligation  and  pleasure  to  attempt  the  work  of  com- 
forting sufferers.  One  of  the  facilities  afforded  to 
the  gospel  by  the  press  is,  that  it  enables  the  preacher 
to  extend  his  voice,  according  to  his  measure  of 
ability,  beyond  the  walls  of  his  own  church;  and  it 
is  natural,  and  will  perhaps  be  thought  pardonable, 
that  he  should  desire  this  increase  of  influence  and 
fruitfulness.  Of  the  discourses  contained  in  this 
volume,  some  are  for  substance  the  same  which  have 
been  pronounced  from  the  pulpit,  and  others  have 
been  written  exj^ressly  for  publication. 


8  PREFACE. 

The  whole  of  Divine  Truth  may,  in  a  certain 
aspect  of  it,  be  regarded  as  matter  of  comfort  to 
Christian  disciples.  Even  in  a  more  restricted  *view, 
the  range  of  subjects  which  are  consolatory  in  their 
nature  is  very  extensive.  Only  a  selection,  therefore, 
of  these  has  been  attempted  in  the  present  instance, 
and  no  expectation  must  be  indulged  that  the  volume 
now  offered  will  contain  either,  on  one  hand,  an 
exhaustive  analysis  of  the  Spirit's  work  as  a  Com- 
'  forter,  or,  on  the  other,  a  detail  of  all  the  particulai 
circumstances  of  life  in  which  consolation  may  be 
needed. 

If  any  should  be  surprised  at  the  large  amount 
of  doctrinal  discussion,  he  will  probably  acquiesce 
in  the  reasonableness  of  such  a  method,  on  consider- 
ing that  true  evangelical  comfort  is  little  promoted 
by  mere  hortatory  address.  If  the  exhortation  con- 
tains no  solid  matter  of  doctrinal  truth,  it  will  avail 
little  for  the  end  proposed.  We  do  not  reach  the 
case  of  the  disheartened  by  commanding  or  implor- 
ing him  to  be  of  good  cheer,  but  by  setting  before 
his  mind  those  great  everlasting  truths,  the  accepta- 
tion of  which  lays  the  basis  for  joy  and  peace.  Such 
are  the  glorious  attributes  of  God,  his  wonderful 
providence,  his  covenant  of  grace,  his  magazine  of 


PREFACE. 


precious  promises,  and  his  rewards  of  heavenly  bliss. 
In  discussing  the  attributes  and  the  providence  of 
God,  it  is  not  possible  to  avoid  some  truths  which  are 
subjects  of  controversy  among  Christians ;  and  the 
writer  has  not  sought  to  disguise  his  views  on  these 
articles  by  omission  or  compromise. 

Delightful  as  is  the  work  of  administering  the 
cordials  of  grace  to  God's  suffering  people,  it  is  to 
be  performed  with  a  discerning  hand ;  and  he  that 
"  speaketh  unto  men  to  edification,  and  exhortation, 
and  comfort,"  must  beware  how  he  cries.  Peace, 
peace,  when  there  is  no  peace.  This  may  account 
for  the  frequency  with  which  consolation  is  here 
intermingled  with  warning  and  rebuke.  If  the  book 
should  find  any  favour  with  persons  as  yet  unre- 
newed in  the  spirit  of  their  minds,  it  will  not  be  the 
less  profitable  for  these  occasional  attempts  to  arouse 
the  benumbed  conscience. 

But,  after  all,  this  is  a  book  for  afflicted  believ- 
ers, and  to  such  it  is  affectionately  dedicated.  -  If  it 
shall  soothe  the  ruffled  spirit  of  the  careworn  disci- 
ple, or  assuage  the  grief  of  the  bereaved,  or  brighten 
the  chamber  of  illness,  or  add  a  drop  of  balm  to  the 
cup  of  old  age,  the  writer  will  be  more  than  repaid 


10  PREFACE. 

for  the  pains  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  it.  That 
this  may  be  the  case,  and  that  the  humble  effort 
may  be  owned  of  God  to  the  refreshment  and  sup- 
port of  the  afflicted,  is  the  prayer  with  which  it  is 
now  surrendered  to  the  public. 

New- York  Nov.  18  1862.  * 


GOD'S  EVERLASTING  MERCY  A  SOURCE 
OP  CONSOLATION. 


I. 


WHEN,  amidst  the  sorrows  of  life,  we  look 
abroad  in  quest  of  consolation,  we  find  none 
real  and  permanent  till  we  resort  to  God  himself; 
and  onr  most  complete  solace  is  that  which  founds 
itself  at  once  on  some  divine  attribute.  Especially 
is  the  mercy  of  God,  in  its  large  Old  Testament  ac- 
ceptation, a  cause  of  relief  and  hope  in  times  of 
distress.  Ancient  Israel  found  it  so,  and  hence 
there  is  no  topic  which  more  frequently  awakens 
the  praises  of  psalmists  and  prophets.  It  is  fitted, 
therefore,  to  lead  the  way  in  a  volume  which  seeks 
to  furnish  suffering  Christians  with  topics  of  conso- 
lation. 

When  David  had  found  a  place  for  the  ark,  the 
august  and  fearful  emblem  and  centre  of  their  reli- 
gion, the  people  accompanied  with  "  shouting,  and 
with  sound  of  the  cornet,  and  with  trumpets,  and 
with  cymbals,  making  a  noise  with  psalteries  and 
harps."  Perhaps  we  have  gone  too  far  in  hushing  all 
the  more  festive  outbreaks  of  popular  joy.  On  this 
great  occasion,  the  royal  poet  delivered  into  the 
hand  of  the  chief  musician  the  lyric  effusion  since 
known  as  the  one  hundred  and  fifth  psalm ;  and 


14  CONSOLATION. 

towards  the  conclusion  oi  a  sublime  and  glowing 
ascription  we  first  meet  witli  these  words,  "  O  give 
thanks  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy 
endureth  for  ever."  And  among  the  appointments, 
we  read  that  Heman,  Jeduthun,  and  their  compa- 
nions were  designated  to  give  thanks  to  the  Lord, 
because  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever.  It  seems  to 
have  been  taken  as  the  established  formula  of  praise, 
especially  within  the  courts  of  the  Lord.  When  the 
ark  of  Jehovah  no  longer  dwelt  within  the  curtains, 
and  Solomon  had  builded  a  house  to  the  Lord,  and 
assembled  the  people  for  its  dedication,  the  record  is 
remarkable.  "  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  priests 
were  come  out  of  the  holy  place,  as  the  trumpeters 
and  singers  were  as  one,  to  make  one  sound  to  be 
heard  in  praising  and  thanking  the  Lord ;  and  when 
they  lifted  up  their  voice  with  the  trumpets,  and 
cymbals,  and  instruments  of  music,  and  praised  the 
Lord,  saying,  For  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy  endureth 
for  ever ;  that  then  the  house  was  filled  with  a  cloud, 
even  the  house  of  the  Lord,  so  that  the  priests  could 
not  stand  to  minister,  by  reason  of  the  cloud ;  for 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  had  filled  the  house  of  the 
Lord."* 

Nor  was  the  usage  forgotten  in  later  times ;  for 
two  hundred  years  after,  in  the  reign  of  Jehosh- 
aphat,  when  the  eastern  nations  were  threatening 
to  come  down  like  a  whirlwind  on  Judah,  and  the 
sovereign  had  called  his  subjects  to  humihation, 
and  the  voice  of  a  prophet  had  encouraged  the  host^ 

*  2  Ohron.  v.  11-14,  vii.  3. 


god's  everlasting  mercy.  ^15 

and  the  Levites  had  stood  up  to  praise  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel  with  a  loud  voice  on  high,  we  are  particu- 
larly informed  that  when  the  king  had  consulted 
with  the  people,  he  appointed  singers  unto  the 
Lord,  that  should  praise  the  beauty  of  holiness,  as 
they  went  out  before  the  army,  and  to  say,  Praise 
the  Lord:  for  Ms  mercy  endurethfor  ever,_  So  like- 
wise, passing  over  nearly  three  hundred  years  after 
the  captivity,  when  the  foundations  of  the  second 
temple  were  laid,  amidst  the  commingling  shouts 
and  weeping  of  the  multitude,  "  they  set  the  priests 
in  their  apparel  with  trumpets,  and  the  Levites 
the  sons  of  Asaph  with  cymbals,  to  praise  the  Lord, 
after  the  ordinance  of  David  king  of  Israel;  and 
they  sang  together  by  course,  in  praising  and 
giving  thanks  unto  the  Lord ;  because  he  is  good, 
for  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever  towards  Israel." 
(Ezr.  3:11.)  It  need  not  then  surprise  us,  to  find 
this  ascription  filling  an  important  place  in  the  book 
of  sacred  song.  In  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-sixth 
psalm,  it  forms  the  closing  part  of  every  verse,  and 
was,  doubtless,  the  chorus  which  was  taken  up,  with 
the  glorious  reverberation  of  voices  and  instruments, 
by  the  multitude  of  worshippers.  I  see  no  reason 
why  it  may  not  now  resound  among  the  heavenly 
arches ;  why  it  may  not  be  rehearsed  with  new  glo- 
rious meanings  in  a  future  world;  as  reasonable 
surely  is  it  to  admit  it  in  glowing  characters  over 
the  arch  which  conducts  us  to  the  New  Testament 
Church :  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever  ! 

This  brief  sentence  comprises  three  of  the  most 


16  CONSOLATION. 

sublime  of  all  the  ideas  of  reason,  viz.,  tlie  idea  oi 
God^  the  idea  of  Goodness^  and  the  idea  of  Eternity, 
Let  us  meditate  a  little  on  this  wonderful  conjunc- 
tion of  luminaries. 

I.  The  idea  of  God. — ^While  in  regard  to  a  mul- 
titude, God  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts,  there  are 
those  who  feel  this  divine  idea  to  be  the  great,  ab- 
sorbing, ever-delightful  object  of  their  contempla- 
tion. As  light  irradiates  all  nature,  so  the  thought 
of  God  diffuses  gladness  over  all  the  moral  world. 
The  proposition  which,  above  all  others,  should  fill 
all  intelligent  creation  with  transport,  is  this.  There 
IS  A  God.  Conceive  of  a  world  without  it ;  conceive 
of  a  planet,  rolling  far  away  in  some  dark  aphelion, 
where  this  prime  revelation  has  never  shone,  hav- 
ing the  light  of  common  day,  but  no  knowledge  of 
God ;  conceive  of  the  poor,  blank,  cheerless  dwell- 
ers on  this  atheistic  orb,  and  then  figure  to  yourself 
some  beautiful  and  mighty  angel,  who  has  been 
thousands  of  years  filling  his  lamp  at  the  central 
founts  of  light,  dispatched  by  infinite  love,  and 
speeding  to  carry  these  tidings  to  the  ignorant 
planet ;  who  can  measure  the  glory  of  the  advent  ? 
It  is  a  change  like  that  when  God  said  to  chaos, 
Let  there  be  light !  If  in  all  human  knowledge 
there  is  a  truth  which  should  transport  us  beyond 
ourselves,  it  is,  that  there  is  a  God.  The  Lord 
reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice  !  Without  it,  we  are 
a  fatherless  brood,  and  our  wcrld  an  orphan  uni 
verse.  The  names  of  God  are  names  of  relation ; 
and  among  the  relations,  we  have  found  something 


god's   EVEKLASTma   MERCY.  17 

more  great,  more  tender,  and  more  lovely,  than 
parent,  brother,  or  husband,  when  we  have  found  a 
God.  Whether,  however,  fallen  reason  would  un- 
aided have  arrived  at  the  idea  of  God,  is  made  a 
question.  That  the  idea,  when  once  revealed,  is  more 
than  all  others  consonant  to  the  faculties ;  that  it  is 
more  than  all  others  congenia;!  to  the  soul ;  that  it 
delightfully  enters,  pervades,  and  fills  capacities 
which  were  otherwise  unemployed,  must  be  acknow- 
ledged of  all.  "  The  invisible  things  of  him,  from  the 
creation  of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  under- 
stood by  the  things  which  are  made,  even  his  eter- 
nal power  and  Godhead."  And  the  God  thus  seen 
is  the  personal,  the  paternal  God  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  not  the  blind,  ever-changing,  ever-developing 
impersonality  of  modern  philosophy.  To  rob  the 
universe  of  such  a  guardian  and  indwelling  glory, 
is  a  capital  offence  against  humanity  and  nature. 
Yet  false  philosophy,  and  poetry  as  false,  unite  to 
rob  us  of  the  blessed  solace ;  and  an  ignorant,  undis- 
criminating  appetite  for  whatever  is  new  and  start- 
ling in  literature,  makes  refined  cabinets  and  draw- 
ing-room tables  admit  the  blasphemous  atheism  of 
Shelley,  while  they  would  reject  the  scurrilous  im- 
piety of  Paine  or  Kneeland.  The  green  and  gilded 
snake  creeps  into  the  closet  and  the  boudoir,  and 
the  modern  Eves  are  tempted  to  deeper  sin  against 
their  native  persuasions  than  she  of  Eden.  Al- 
mighty God  !  of  thine  infinite  compassion,  preserve 
our  people  from  the  entrance  of  any  speculation 
which  shall  involve  the  denial  of  Thee ! 
2 


18  CONSOLATION. 

Atheism  deforms  all  it  touches.  "It  robs  the 
universe,''  says  Hall,  "  of  all  finished  and  consum 
mate  excellence  even  of  idea.  The  admiration  of 
perfect  wisdom  and  goodness,  for  which  we  are 
formed,  and  which  kindles  such  unspeakable  rapture 
in  the  soul,  finding  in  the  regions  of  skepticism 
nothing  to  which  it  corresponds,  droops  and  lan- 
guishes. In  a  world  which  presents  a  fair  spectacle 
pf  order  and  beauty;  of  a  vast  family,  nourished 
and  supported  by  an  almighty  Parent ;  in  a  world 
which  leads  the  devout  mind,  step  by  step,  to  the 
contemplation  of  the  first  fair  and  the  first  good, 
the  skeptic  is  encom]3assed  with  nothing  but  obscuri- 
ty, meanness,  and  disorder." 

The  infant  embraces  the  earliest  suggestion  of  a 
God  without  repugnance,  and  without  effort.  When 
grown  to  adult  strength,  and  trained  to  philosophic 
inquiry,  he  still  gazes  on  this  as  the  grand  and  only 
satisfying  object.  It  should  seem  that  our  capa- 
cities crave  some  glorious  consummation  of  the 
pyramid  of  truth,  some,  crowning  point,  some 
declaration  of  the  infinite ;  so  that  the  soul  without 
God  is  incomplete, — a  basin  of  earth  without  its 
ocean. 

As  knowledge  increases,  as  our  capacities  grow, 
there  is  no  more  comprehension  of  this  vast  idea 
than  there  was  before  :  the  sun  seems  no  smaller 
and  no  less  bright  as  we  approach  his  central  resi- 
dence. Expand  the  faculty  as  we  may,  to  the  stand- 
ard of  the  highest  seraph,  there  is  still  that  in  God 
which  shar  fill  it  all.     Climb  as  we  may,  from  Alp 


god's  everlasting  mercy.  19 

to  Alp,  in  our  researclies,  the  vaulted  heaven  of  the 
Divine  Idea  is  still  above  us. 

Human  science  reaches  no  point  where  the  divine 
wisdom  has  not  anticipated  its  march.  There  is  not 
a  discovery  in  optics,  though  the  fruit  of  ages  of  in- 
quiry, concerning  which  we  do  not  feel  authorized 
to  assert,  that  the  long-latent  principle  was  known 
before  creation,  and  that  God  has  adapted  the  lenses 
of  the  eye  to  light,  and  hght  to  the  lenses  of  the 
eye.  The  remark  may  be  generalized  in  its  applica- 
tion to  every  law  of  physical  and  moral  nature.  So 
that  a  knowledge  of  God  would  really  be  the  know- 
ledge of  all  things. 

I  need  not  go  about  to  show  by  argument  why 
the  being  of  God  is  a  cause  of  rejoicing  to  the  uni- 
verse. Other  things  are  drops,  but  this  is  the  foun- 
tain. Other  things  are  transient,  insulated  favours  ; 
fragments  and  atoms  of  beneficence  ;  single  flowers 
of  mercy  ;  single  draughts  of  bliss ;  single  odours, 
wafted  from  fields  of  fragrance :  but  God  (let  me 
speak  reverently)  is  the  very  atmosphere,  all-com- 
prehending and  all-pervading,  in  which  we  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being.  Therefore,  he  that  glo- 
rieth,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord !  He  that  would 
be  joyful,  let  him  be  joyful  in  the  Lord  !  The  book 
of  Psalms  is  a  chamber  of  holy  voices,  echo  answer- 
ing echo,  deep  calling  unto  deep,  with  the  enthusi- 
asm and  rapture  of  adoring  ecstasy  and  fearful  love. 
We  do  but  rehearse  here  what  we  shall  utter  above, 
when  we  call  upon  all  things,  silent  or  vocal,  to 
praise  the  name  of  the  Lord.     "  My  meditation  of 


20  ^  CONSOLATIOiN^. 

him  shall  be  sweet.  I  will  be  glad  in  the  Lord 
Sing  unto  him ;  sing  psalms  unto  him :  talk  ye  of 
all  his  wondrous  works.  Praise  ye  the  Lord  from 
the  heavens ;  praise  him  in  the  heights.  Praise  ye 
him,  all  his  angels;  praise  ye  him,  all  his  hosts. 
Praise  God  in  his  sanctuary ;  praise  him  in  the  fir- 
mament of  hia  power.  Praise  the  Lord,  O  Jerusa- 
lem !     Praise  thy  God,  O  Zion ! 

These  are  happy  exercises,  and  he  has  never  be- 
gun the  course  of  true  felicity,  who  is  still  a  stranger 
to  God.  These  afford  the  ultimate  basis  of  all  con- 
solation. 

II.  The  idea  of  goodness^  in  that  particular  mode 
of  it  which  is  entitled  mercy.  In  Scripture  usage,  the 
term  is  not  always  employed  with  the  nice  discrimi- 
nation of  the  schools,  but  is  applied  to  all  the  modi- 
fications of  divine  favour  to  creatures.  Yet  the 
word  undoubtedly  carries  with  it  some  tinge  of  com- 
passion ;  it  speaks  of  pity ;  it  points  to  tears  which 
tremble  in  the  eye  of  infinite  love ;  it  is  God  look- 
ing upon  meanness,  and  wretchedness,  and  sin.  It  is 
a  great  idea,  and  fit  to  be  coupled  with  divinity. 
Heathen  mythology  did  not  contain  it.  The  Scrip- 
tures are  full  of  it,  and  we  see  the  temple  praises 
were  full  of  it.  It  is  the  essential  property  of  God, 
whereby  he  regards  the  miserable.  It  is  more  spe- 
cially the  same  perfection,  viewed  as  flowing  through 
its  sole  channel  in  the  Mediator.  The  fall,  which 
rendered  mediation  necessary,  rendered  Jesus  Christ 
the  sole  depositary  of  infinite  mercy.  Not  more 
truly  is  the  sun  the  organ  and  centre  of  all  the 


god's  everlasting  meect.  K  ^^  'IV  T  rJ^  '^'^^j-y 


liglit  of  tlie  universe,  tlian  Jesus  C  ^^^^y^y 
organ  and  centre  of  all  mercy  for  men.  IKSi^^ffiSl^IA. 
Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  tliem  tliat  believe 
merciful  God  is  moreover  tlieir  God  in  Jesus  Clirist. 
A  world  of  sinners  can  look  in  only  one  direction 
to  see  God,  to  wit,  in  tlie  direction  of  the  ark  and 
mercy-seat,  wkicli  gives  a  propriety  to  the  repeated 
use  of  this  ascription  in  such  temple-services  as  are 
connected  with  the  ark  of  the  covenant.  God 
dwelt  there,  between  the  cherubim,  that  is,  over  the 
propitiatory.  Hence  the  cry,  O  thou  that  dwellest 
between  the  cherubim !  '  It  was  an  inhabitation  of 
mercy.  There  he  received  incense ;  there  he  pre- 
sided over  the  sprinkling  of  blood ;  there  he  shone 
forth  in  a  glory  which  any  where  else  would  have 
been  consuming.  The  other  instances  of  mercy 
contained  in  this  psalm  are  favours  and  deliverances 
towards  a  sinful  but  accepted  people,  which  are  all 
founded  on  the  covenant  of  which  this  ark  was  the 
symbol.  It  is  part  of  his  royal  name  and  title,  the 
Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious — ^keeping  mercy 
for  thousands ;  long-suffering  and  of  great  mercy  ;  he 
delighteth  in  mercy.  Such  are  some  of  the  phrases 
of  the  Old  Testament,  while  in  the  New,  this  is  the 
great  topic,  and  every  page  seems  to  exhale  the 
fragrance  of  the  benediction,  Grace,  Mercy,  and 
Peace. 

The  Goodness,  the  Love,  the  Grace,  and  the 
Mercy  of  God,  are  only  so  many  phases  of  the 
same  orb ;  all  the  outshining  of  one  and  the  same 
benignant  Jehovah ;  and  all  entitled  to  our  praise. 


22  CONSOLATION. 

The  goodness  of  God  is  his  infinite  disposition  to  do 
good  to  tlie  creature.  The  love  of  God  is  the  same 
goodness  in  its  more  distinct  propension  toward  the 
person  of  the  creature,  whereby  God  tends  to  bless 
the  creature,  by  the  communication  of  himself,  and 
this  in  various  degrees — the  lo\'e  of  the  creature^  the 
love  of  man^  and  the  love  of  his  people.  The 
Geace  of  God  is  his  infinite  disposition  to  commu- 
nicate himself  to  the  creature,  in  divine  gratuity, 
irrespective  of  all  merit  in  the  object.  And  the 
Mercy  of  God,  regarding  man  as  fallen  and  sinful,  is 
God's  disposition  to  pardon  sin  and  succour  misery. 
It  stands  related  to  goodness,  as  kindness  to  pity,  in 
the  human  soul ;  it  flows  from  the  spring-head  of 
mere  goodness ;  it  contemplates  misery,  and  misery 
which  might  be  left  unrelieved,  as  being  justly  in- 
flicted. It  is,  therefore,  pre-eminently  a  sovereign 
perfection.  This  mercy  of  God  may  be  received  ao 
general  and  special,  God's  general  mercy  flies  to 
the  succour  of  mankind  in  general,  in  their  various 
deserved  troubles;  his  special  mercy  contemplates 
them  as  united  in  covenant  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  To  have  any  proper  view  of  t;ke  divine 
mercy,  we  should  consider  who  and  what  He  is,  of 
whom  it  is  predicated ;  how  high,  how  great,  how 
all-sufficient,  how  independent  and  infinite  in  per- 
petual bliss.  We  should  consider  who  and  what  its 
objects  are;  men,  fallen  men,  undeserving,  con- 
demned enemies  of  God.  The  whole  dealing  of 
God  with  men,  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  pro- 
ceeds ou  this  basis.     We  mistake  fatally,  if  we  as* 


god's  eveelasting  mercy.  23 

sume  any  other.  Thus  viewed,  the  mercy  of  God  is 
amazing,  in  its  mode  of  action,  its  means  and  instru- 
ments, its  sublime  and  tender  events,  its  stupen- 
dous sacrifices,  its  elaborate,  complicated,  yet  simple 
arrangements,  and  its  extraordinary  and  immeasur- 
able results.  There  was  a  dawn  of  this  benignity  in 
the  Old  Testament ;  but  it  is  a  clear  shining  under 
the  'New.  Its  very  nature  is  embodied  in  the  name 
of  Jesus.  When,  after  long  journeyings  through  a 
land  of  wilderness,  abounding  in  convictions,  fears, 
legal  restraints,  and  unavailing  endeavours,  the 
weary  pilgrim-soul  first  obtains  a  glimpse  of  this  at- 
tribute, thus  'revealed,  it  is  as  when  the  remnant  of 
the  ten  thousand  Greeks,  under  Xenophon,  itfter 
long  battling  and  travel,  caught  a  sight  of  the 
Euxine,  and  cried  in  a  shout  of  rapture,  the  sea  !  the 
ma  !  Old  Testament  saints  had  glimpses,  as  ^  hen 
one  sees  the  ocean  from  a  favoured  hill-top,  in  a 
distant  view ;  New  Testament  believers  are  allc  w^ed 
to  come  and  stand  by  the  side  of  the  mighty,  inter- 
minable main. 

It  is  our  unspeakable  privilege,  brethren,  to 
live  under  this  dispensation  of  divine  mercy.  And 
we  can  rehearse  displays  of  it  far  more  wonderful 
than  those  which  are  recounted  in  any  psalm.  When 
we  praise  ''  him  who  alone  doeth  great  wonders,"  we 
can  include  the  wonders  of  redemption.  When  we 
ascribe  glory  "  to  him  that  made  great  lights,"  we 
can  rejoice  in  that  true  Light  which  now  shineth. 
He  that  '•'-  smote  Eg}^t  in  their  first-born"  is  indeed 
the  God  of  mercy ;  but  still  more,  he  who  delivered 


24  CONSOLATION. 

for  us  fiis  only-begotten  Son,  "  for  it  pleased  the 
Lord  to  bruise  bim/'  The  overthrow  of  Pharaoh, 
of  Sihon,  and  of  Og,  was  but  a  type  of  our  deliver- 
ance. So  that  we  can  exclaim  with  even  higher 
transport  than  the  Hebrew,  "  w^ho  remembered  us 
in  our  low  estate ;  for  his  mercy  endui'eth  for  ever ; 
and  hath  redeemed  us  from  our  enemies;  for  his 
mercy  endureth  for  ever." 

If  it  was  right  for  Israel  to  recount  the  memory 
of  these  national  advantages,  it  is  doubly  incum- 
bent on  Christians  to  speak  to  the  praise  and  the 
glory  of  that  grace  wherein  we  are  accepted  in  the 
Beloved.  Especially  should  we  record  the  great 
transaction,  the  chosen  display  of  divine  goodness 
to  mankind,  in  the  election  of  Messiah — his  taking 
human  flesh — his  companying  with  rejecting  men,  in 
circumstances  of  lowliness,  and  shame,  and  pain — 
his  conflict  with  the  hour  of  darkness — his  bloody, 
mysterious  death,  and  his  godlike  resurrection. 
Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he 
loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins. 

The  main  channel  and  torrent  of  mercy  flows  in 
a  majestic  stream  in  the  redemption  of  the  soul; 
but  its  flood  receives  and  embosoms  ten  thousand 
lesser  currents  of  temporal  bounty.  Divine  mercy 
does  not  neglect  the  less  while  she  accomplishes  the 
greater.  As  she  marches  heavenward,  with  eyes 
fixed  upon  the  crown  and  kingdom,  she  scatters 
largesses  at  every  'step.  AU  our  blessings  flow  from 
this  same  open  hand,  and  are,  therefore,  properly 


GOD'S    EVERLASTING   MEROY.  25 

denominated  mei'cies.  The  covenant  includes  these, 
and  the  believer  hopes  for  them,  on  the  prin- 
ciple, that  all  is  his.  Each  returning  season  ex- 
poses to  view  some  new  aspect  of  divine  benignity. 
Thou  croicne-st  the  year  with  thy  goodness.  Our 
persons,  our  landscapes,  our  neighbourhoods,  our 
city,  our  state,  our  nation,  our  race,  are  recipients 
every  moment  of  this  boundless  favour ;  magnified 
inconceivably  when  we  consider  that  it  descends 
upon  the  unworthy,  and  made  most  tender  and  im- 
pressive, when  we  consider  that  it  descends  upon  us. 
And  there  is  no  view  of  the  divine  glory  which  so 
exalts  him,  as  when  he  is  beheld  as  the  source  of 
incessant  and  innumerable  and  immeasurable  rivers 
of  good ;  himself  the  Great  Parent,  on  whom  all  the 
ranks  of  creatures  hang  and  are  nourished.  It  is 
the  theme  of  celestial  worlds : 

"And  where  the  river  of  bliss  through  midst  of  heaven 
Rolls  o'er  Elysian  flowers  her  amber  stream  ; 
With  these  that  nevej*  fade  the  spirits  elect 
Bind  their  resplendent  looks  inwreathed  with  beams : 
Now  in  loose  garlands  thick  thrown  off;  the  bright 
Pavement  that  like  a  sea  of  jasper  shone, 
Impurpled  with  celestial  roses  smiled. 
Then  crowned  again  their  golden  harps  they  took, 
Harps  ever  tuned,  that  glittering  by  their  side 
Like  quivers  hung,  and  with  preamble  sweet, 
Of  charming  symphony  they  introduce 
Their  sacred  song,  and  waken  raptures  high ; 
No  voice  exempt,  no  voice  but  well  could  join 
Melodious  part,  such  concord  is  in  heaven." 

III.  The  Idea  of  Eternity. — ^The  strict  transla* 
tion  of  the  text  is,  "  Thy  mercy  ...  to  eternity !'' 


26  CONSOLATION. 

In  its  fulness  of  significancy,  it  is  predicable  of  God 
alone,  "  who  only  hath  immortality."  At  the  grove  of 
Beersheba  (Gen.  xxi.  33),  Abraham  invoked  Jeho- 
vah under  the  name  of  The  Eternal  God.  "  He 
irihahiteth  eternit}^," — a  sublime  phrase,  teaching  us, 
that  as  time  and  space  are  the  limits  of  all  things 
finite,  so  God  overleaps  both  by  his  immensity ;  the 
one — space — by  his  omnipotence,  the  other — time — 
by  his  eternity.  The  tracts  of  space  are  vast,  and 
confounding  to  our  imagination.  Our  own  day 
has  witnessed  the  first  exact  measurement  of  the 
distance  of  the  nearest  fixed  star,  which  is  twen- 
ty-one millions  of  millions  of  miles.  A  learned  cal- 
culator has  shown,  that  "  in  the  space  around  our 
solar  system  devoid  of  stars,  there  is  room  in  one 
dimension,  or  one  straight  line,  for  twelve  thousand 
solar  systems ;  in  two  dimensions,  or  in  one  plane, 
there  is  room  for  one  hundred  and  thirty  millions 
of  solar  systems ;  and  in  actual  sidereal  space  of 
three  dimensions,  there  is  room  for  one  and  a  half 
million  millions  of  solar  systems  the  size  of  our 
own."  Such  are  the  hlanhs  in  the  scheme ;  how 
fearful  the  thought  of  .such  physical  immensity  !  I 
call  your  mind  to  it,  to  say  that  God  is  there — in  all 
conceivable  space,  and  beyond  all.  So  in  regard  to 
time ;  God  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting.  He 
is  without  beginning  and  without  ending.  Incom- 
prehensible as  this  is,  the  reverse  is  inconceivable. 
Something  must  be  without  beginning :  else  nothing 
could  ever  have  been.  And  what  can  be  so  reason- 
ably assumed  to  be  without  beginning,  as  the  inii- 


god's  everlasting  mercy.  2t 

nite  First  Cause  ?  There  is  sometliing  about  the  idea 
of  eternity  wMcLl  oppresses  the  soul.  Yet  from  un- 
der this  incubus  we  cannot  escape.  There  is  some- 
thing mysterious  in  the  way  whereby  we  arrive  at 
the  idea  of  eternity.  I  cannot  think  it  is  by  enu- 
meration— by  adding  unit  to  unit — even  though  ths 
process  were  continued  for  a  lifetime,  or  a  lifetime  of 
the  world ;  for  at  the  last  of  this  process  we  should 
still  be  as  far  from  eternity  as  when  we  began.  No 
such  summation  of  a  series  can,  as  I  suppose,  gene- 
rate the  conception.  I  rather  conceive  it,  though  not 
an  innate,  an  uncompounded  idea  of  the  infinite. 
New  and  startling  as  the  suggestion  may  be  to  some, 
eternity  has  no  parts.  It  therefore  has  no  succes- 
sion. The  Eternal  One  is  ever  the  same.  To  his 
mind  all  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future,  are 
present  at  once.  The  life  of  God  is  enjoyed,  not  by 
a  passage  from  the  past  into  the  present,  and  the 
present  into  the  future,  but  is  possessed  perfectly, 
wholly,  and  interminably,  all  at  once.  No  years,  no 
centuries,  no  sidereal  cycles,  measure  Him  whose 
name  is,  I  AM  THAT  I  AM.  Of  our  lives,  a  por- 
tion vanishes  every  moment :  but  it  is  not  so  with 
God.  And  that  which  most  interests  us  now,  is  that 
his  mercy  is  everlasting — his  mercy  endureth  for 
ever.  Wherever  and  whenever  God  is,  he  is  in  the 
plenitude  of  mercy.  Divine  benignity  spreads  those 
ample  wings  more  widely  than  the  universe  itselfl 
There  are  regions  beyond  the  most  distant  nebulous 
outskirts  of  matter ;  but  no  regions  beyond  the  di» 
vine  goodness.     We  may  conceive  of  tracts  where 


28  CONSOLATION. 

there  are  no  worlds,  but  not  of  any  where  there  ia 
no  God  of  mercy. 

Let  me  particularize  one  or  two  meanings  of  the 
declaration. 

1.  God's  mercy  endureth  for  ever,  in  the  sense 
that  he  will  never  cease  to  be  merciful.  He  must 
at  the  same  time  cease  to  be  God.  The  burdened 
soul  turns  with  expectation  to  an  unchangeable  Be- 
ing. As  this  is  one  of  the  sublimest,  so  it  is  also  one 
of  the  most  consolatory  truths.  Every  thing  around 
us  and  within  us  is  suffering  mutation;  but  the 
changeful  stream  of  creatures  and  events,  flowing  in 
perpetual  broken  waves,  washes  the  base  of  that 
awful  pyramid  of  being,  whose  summit  is  lost  in  the 
unapproachable  clouds  of  divinity.  Under  the  dis- 
couragements of  our  frailty  and  nothingness,  we 
look  away,  almost  by  an  instinct  of  our  nature,  to 
discover  something  solid  and  permanent.  This  we 
can  find  nowhere  short  of  the  Great  Supreme ;  and 
when  we  have  reached  this  centre,  we  repose  with  a 
serene  complacency  of  spirit.  Thus  the  prophetic 
bard .  sings,  "  Eeturn  unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul,  for 
the  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee." 

Let  the  troubled  soul  consider,  that  in  all  the 
difiusion  of  his  omnipresence,  God  is  everywhere 
merciful  As  he  hath  been,  so  he  will  be.  His 
benignity  is  subject  to  no  fitful  waning  or  caprice. 
The  day  can  never  come  when  he  shall  be  less  mer- 
ciful than  at  this  instant.  This  mercy  has  no  bounds, 
m  regard  to  those  creatures  who  are  its  proper  ob- 
jects.    "A  God  all  mercy  were  a  God  unjust :"  this 


god's  everlastestg  mercy.  29 

cannot  be  denied  or  forgotten  ;  and  there  are  those 
who,  rejecting  the  mercy  of  God  against  them* 
selves,  fall  upon  the  sword  of  his  eternal  justice. 
Yet  within  the  circle  of  his  gracious  plan,  and  where 
he  has  undertaken  to  save,  we  may  believe^  that 
taking  a  large  and  comprehensive  view,  God's  com- 
munication of  benefit  is  limited  only  by  the  capaci- 
ty of  the  creature ;  and  that  this  capacity  will  be 
continually  increasing,  in  accordance  with  a  love 
which  endureth  for  ever.  We  look  forward,  there- 
fore, to  a  display  of  this  attribute,  which  shall  never 
cease,  but  have  new  developments  to  all  eternitv  ! 
(^  For  the  Most  High  will  act  as  God ;  that  is,  with 
an  infinitude  of  glory  in  all  his  merciful  acts  ;  and 
the  radiance  of  his  benevolence  in  this  world  is  only 
the  preparatory  twinkle  of  a  day  without  cloud  or 
sunset.  If  we  may  so  express  it,  Jehovah  takes  a 
holy  complacency  and  satisfaction  in  acting  forth 
his  divine  attributes,  in  creating  fit  objects,  in  mould- 
ing them  for  this  purpose,  in  widening  their  suscep- 
tibilities, and  magnifying  their  joys.  In  this  is  dis- 
played the  glory  of  his  nature,  in  the  view  of  all 
holy  and  intelligent  worlds  ;  and  thus  will  it  be,  in- 
creasingly, for  ever :  so  that  thousands  of  ages  hence, 
the  adorable  Lord,  whom  we  now  justly  regard  as 
infinitely  merciful,  will  not  only  show  himself  clearly 
such  towards  a  greater  number  of  creatures,  but  will 
in  each  of  these  shine  resplendent  with  a  lustre  be- 
coming perpetually  more  bright.  The  contempla- 
tion of  this  will  form  in  a  high  degree  the  bliss  of 
heaven ;  and  the  beatific  vision  will  include  a  -Tiew 
'^f  the  divine  mercy  as  endurino:  for  ever. 


30  CONSOLATION. 

This  aspect  of  the  divine  perfection  is  tlierefoie 
a  never-failing  source  of  comfort  to  a  soul  disturbed 
by  sin  and  sorrow.  Whatever  may  be  the  cause  of 
disquietude,  immediate  peace  is  found,  when  the  soul 
reposes  itself  on  God.  It  has  then  gravitated  to  its 
true  centre.  It  has  no  longer  any  thing  to  seek. 
Our  attempts  at  consolation  often  fail,  because  we 
stop  short  of  this  ultimate  idea.  Even  w^hen  medi- 
tating religiously,  we  are  apt  to  rest  in  the  creature, 
as  in  some  of  God's  gifts,  instead  of  plunging  at 
once,  without  reserve,  into  the  boundless  ocean  of 
that  divine  mercy  which  can  never  suffer  loss  or 
termination. 

2.  God's  mercy  endureth  for  ever,  in  the  sense 
that  he  will  never  cease  to  be  merciful  to  his  church. 
This  is  consolation  indeed  to  those  who  belong  to 
this  favoured  community.  From  the  beginning  to 
the  end,  as  long  as  there  shall  be  a  church,  God  will 
be  its  covenant  and  merciful  Father,  through  Christ 
Jesus.  For  the  church  may  be  regarded  as  a  spe- 
cial organ  for  the  exercise,  transmission  and  display 
of  this  very  benevolence.  After  the  introduction 
of  sin,  God  has  no  channel  so  remarkable  for  the 
flow  of  his  mercy  as  the  church  of  Christ.  It  was 
for  the  manifestation  of  his  glorious  attributes,  that 
he  chose  it  in  Christ  Jesus,  before  the  world  began ; 
and  among  these  attributes,  for  manifesting  those  of 
Goodness,  Grace,  and  Mercy.  For  this  purpose,  the 
calling  and  gathering  of  individuals  have  been  con 
ducted  through  different  dispensations.  The  mercy 
of  the  Lord  is  perpetually  and  gloriously  displaying 
itself  by  means  of  the  redeemed ;  and  it  is  God's 


GOD'S   EVEELASTIKG   MEECY.  M 

unchangeable  purpose  to  bring  this  whole  plan  to  a 
consummation,  when  the  number  of  the  elect  shall 
be  made  up,  and  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,  shall 
be  shown  to  the  universe  in  the  last  days.  Now  as 
these  are  God's  purposes  towards  his  church,  and  as 
his  mercy  in  regard  to  it  is  everlasting,  every  mem- 
ber of  this  spiritual  body  has  a  source  of  consola- 
tion, altogether  withheld  from  the  world  without. 
It  is  not  a  small  thing  to  belong  to  that  community 
for  which  Christ  died,  for  which  he  prays,  and  unto 
which  he  purposes  to  give  dominion.  Temporary 
afflictions  may  break  over  the  heads  of  Christ's  peo- 
ple, but  the  nature  of  the  covenant  is  such  that  they 
cannot  be  unsafe.  The  very  hairs  of  their  heads 
are  all  numbered.  To  destroy  them,  would  be  to 
frustrate  the  divine  plan.  They  are  the  objects  of 
an  everlasting  love.  This  comfort,  therefore,  may 
be  taken  by  the  humblest  believer,  from  his  connec- 
tion with  a  covenant  which  is  well  ordered  in  all 
things  and  sure. 

When  days  are  dark,  let  the  soul  turn  itself  to 
him  who  dwelleth  in  Zion,  and  who  can  never  for- 
get her.  Christian  supports  are  the  more  sure  and 
abiding  when  they  are  taken  in  common  with  all 
the  chosen  seed,  and  on  the  grounds  of  covenant 
faithfulness.  When  we  can  place  ourselves  in  such 
a  position  that  the  promises  of  God  towards  his 
church  become  promises  to  us  individually,  we  are 
drinking  waters  which  flow  out  of  the  sanctuary  it- 
self. 

3.  God's  mercy  endureth  for  ever,  in  the  snnse 


82  CONSOLATION". 

that  in  future  eternity,  otherwise  called  the  world  to 
come^  there  will  be  glorious  developments  of  this 
very  attribute,  as  known  to  us.  In  that  coming 
age,  that  expanse  of  blissful  knowledge  and  posses- 
sion, which  we  hope  and  pray  for,  and  to  which 
every  returning  day  brings  us  so  much  nearer — 
what  is  it,  think  you,  that  shall  make  our  heaven  ? 
An  everlasting  drowsiness  and  dream  of  listless  in- 
action ?  mountains  of  odours,  fragrant  meads,  crys- 
tal rivers,  Elysian  fruits,  melody  and  harmony  ? — 
simple  rest?  simple  exemption  from  pain?  simple 
lamblike  innocence  ?  Is  this  heaven  ? — learning 
nothing,  doing  nothing  ?  This  is  Twt  heaven.  I  will 
tell  you  what  it  is :  it  is  seeing  God — it  is  seeing 
him  more  and  more — it  is  going  from  star  to  star, 
and  from  system  to  system,  in  this  voyage'  of  divine 
discovery.  There  is  enough  in  God  for  all  eternity ; 
for  all  that  there  is  in  creatures,  is  in  him  by  way 
of  eminence.  There  are  attributes  of  God,  we  may 
reasonably  suppose,  of  which  we  have  not  even  a 
conception,  and  in  relation  to  which  we  are  now  in 
the  condition  of  a  man  born  blind,  in  relation  to 
colours,  or  a  man  born  deaf  in  relation  to  sounds. 
An  animal  with  one  sense  (there  are  such)  can 
know  but  little  of  nature ;  less,  far  less,  in  compari- 
son, do  we  know  of  God.  I  suppose  there  are  facul- 
ties absolutely  latent  in  the  human  mind  which  are 
to  reveal  themselves  in  that  new  state,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  objects  now  beyond  their  reach.  It  will 
not  be  a  lesson  of  a  day  to  expatiate  on  the  divine 
nature.     Duration   must   expand.     Astronomy  has 


god's   EVEKLASTING    MERCl.  33 

revealed  certain  binary  stars,  as  66  Ceti^  one  of 
which,  revolves  around  the  other  in  a  period  of  several 
thousands  of  years.  Conceive  the  uniting  line,  the 
radius  of  these  two  suns,  as  the  hand  that  moves 
upon  the  celestial  dial-plate.  It  has  proceeded  a  re- 
volution. Worlds  may  have  perished  during  this 
hour  of  heaven;  but  the  soul  is  still  learning  to 
know  more  of  that  infinite  benignity  which  shines  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  Some  have  rendered  the 
text,  "  His  mercy  is  for  the  coming  age :"  it  is  true. 
Then  shall  we  see  face  to  face,  and  know,  even  as 
also  we  are  known ;  and  this  in  regard  to  the  mercy 
which  has  ransomed  man.  We  shall  better  compre- 
hend all  the  transaction  of  Gethsemane  and  Gol- 
gotha, and  look  more  nearly  into  the  heart  of  God, 
when  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  bone  of  our  bone,  and 
flesh  of  our  flesh,  shall  be  the  daysman  and  the  in- 
terpreter. Then  shall  we  know  the  privilege  con- 
ferred on  us,  in  that  we  are  made  immortal  beings. 
Then  shall  we  discover  that  this  world  has  revealed 
but  the  beginning  of  his  kindnesses  unto  mankind. 
Then  shall  the  overflowing  goodness  of  the  Divinity 
display  the  true  bliss  of  Him  whose  power  is  exerted 
in  every  direction  to  make  his  people  happy.  With 
no  stinted  hand  will  he  cast  abroad  the  greatness  of 
his  benign  endowments  on  the  family  of  redeemed 
ones,  while  each  one  of  the  palm-bearing  multitude, 
pointing  out  to  its  sister  spirit  the  now  exalted  cause 
of  all  this  favour,  shall  ciy,  "  This  is  my  Beloved, 
and  this  is  my  Friend." 

a  / 


FEE  PEOVIDENCE  OF  GOD  A  GEOUND 
OF  CONSOLATION 


II. 


MEN  are  prone  to  think  of^od,  says  the  excellent 
Melancthon,  as  of  a  shipbuilder,  who,  when  he 
has  completed  his  vessel,  launches  and  leaves  it.  In 
opposition  to  this  error  of  the  Epicureans  and  Stoics, 
we  are  to  be  reminded  that  God  never  abandons  his 
work,  but  is  as  much  with  it  the  last  day  as  the  first. 
This  governing  presence  of  God  with  all  his  crea- 
tures and  all  their  actions,  is  called  Providence^  from 
a  Latin  word  which  means  to  see  beforehand.  If  we 
look  on  creation  as  God's  first  revelation  of  himself, 
we  may  look  on  Providence  as  the  continuance  of 
that  revelation.  It  is  that  general  agency  of  God, 
whereby  he  abides  with  the  creature,  upholding  and 
directing  it  for  all  the  ends  for  which  it  was  made. 
Hence  tl  3  twofold  topic  of  Peeservatioit  and 
GovERNMi  osTT.  If  a  volitiou  of  the  Almighty  was 
necessary  to  bring  creatures  into  being,  a  continued 
volition  is  necessary  to  keep  them  in  being.  The 
mere  will  of  God  was  creative ;  it  brought  creation 
out  of  nothing :  the  like  will  continued  is  the  divine 
Providence.  No  more  can  beings  continue  to  exist 
without  God,  than  they  could  have  begun  to  exist 
without  him.     This  has  not  been  sufficiently  con- 


38  CONSOLATION. 

sidered.  The  infinite  and  eternal  God  is  the  basis 
of  all  being.  In  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being.  If  that  incomprehensible  influence, 
whereby  each  thing  is^  and  is  what  it  is^  should  be 
withdrawn  for  an  instant,  all  things  would  lose  their 
existence,  and  would  go  back  into  annihilation.  No 
positive  act  of  God  would  be  necessary  to  reduce 
the  universe  to  nothing.  This  perpetual  and  indis- 
pensable sustentation  m  all  things  is  part  of  Divine 
Providence.  Hence,  the  old  divines  w^ere  accus- 
tomed to  speak  of  Providence  as  a  continued  crea- 
tion. As  creation  is  the  wiU  of  God  that  things 
should  exist  and  begin  to  be,  so  Providence  is  the 
will  of  God  that  things  should  continue  to  be.  The 
created  world  continues  by  the  very  same  power 
which  caused  it  to  begin.  This  preservation  of  aU 
things  is  the  first  act  of  Providence,  and  that  with- 
out which  other  acts  would  have  been  impossible. 
None  but  God,  the  infinite  One,  can  be  conceived  of 
as  competent  to  so  great  a  work.  It  demands  for 
its  execution  omniscience^  to  know  the  universe 
which  is  to  be  preserved,  and  to  know  how  to  pre- 
serve it ;  omnipresence^  to  apply  this  divine  know- 
ledge in  every  place ;  and  omnipotence^  to  carry  out 
the  amazing  work  on  the  immensity  of  things.  This 
preserving  power  extends  to  the  twofold  universe 
of  matter  and  of  spirit.  (1.)  To  the  world  of  matter. 
It  is  kept  what  it  is  by  this  never-ceasing  influence. 
The  properties  of  matter  are  maintained  such,  by  an 
abiding  will  of  God.  We  may  talk  of  gravity,  of 
motion,  and  of  divisibility  ;  these  are  only  modes  of 


THE   PROVIDENCE   OF   GOD./^^        ^'^SR^^ 

existence  wMcli  have  no  substantiality  in  'tJiemselvef 
but  are  kept  such  by  God.     We  may  talk  of  the  '/j^, 
laws  of  matter,  and  sometimes  may  ignorantly  think    *     J' 
of  them  as  principles  or  powers  existing  in  matter^  !J  ^ 
even  independently  of  the  Creator,  but  these  laws 
are  only  God's  methods  of  producing  effects  by  ma- 
terial means.     Every  existence,  and  every  property 
and  quality  and  act  of  each,  is  maintained  simply 
by  the  everlasting  power  of  God.     Were  this  power 
to  be  withheld,  they  would  not  only  cease  to  have 
such  qualities,  but  would  cease  to  be. 

The  dream  of  atheism  is,  that  the  laws  of  nature 
constitute  all  the  power  there  is;  and  that  these 
laws  are  only  a  tendency  of  material  things,  render- 
ing unnecessary  the  supposition  of  a  first  cause  dis- 
tinct from  matter.  The  equally  absurd  dream  of 
Pantheism  is,  that  every  thing  is  God  (hence  the 
name),  and  that  all  the  revolutions  of  the  great  mass 
are  stages  in  the  development  and  growth  of  divi- 
nity ;  for  Pantheism  believes  that  God  may  develop, 
and  change,  and  grow.  But  reason  suggests  and  re- 
velation declares  that  the  material  world  is  upheld 
by  a  most  powerful,  wise,  holy,  and  infinite  Being, 
separate  from  itself  (2.)  Again,  this  preserving 
power  extends  to  the  world  of  spirit  God,  who  in- 
spired the  soul  of  man,  and  created  all  embodied 
spirits,  continues  their  being  by  his  perpetual  sus- 
tentation.  Not  as  the  Pantheists  imagine,  that  all 
spirits  are  parts  or  modifications  of  God,  but  that 
God,  while  eternally  distinct  from  all  spirits,  is  inti- 
mately present  with  all,  sustaining  them  in  all  their 


40  ^  CONSOLATION. 

properties  and  acts.  In  this  important  sense,  God  ia 
not  far  from  every  one  of  us.  Surrounded  and  con- 
tained by  him,  and  upheld  in  all  the  more  glorious 
attributes  of  manhood  by  his  power,  we  may  in  truth 
be  said  to  be  nearer  to  God  than  our  bodies  are  to 
our  souls.  "  Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  Spirit, 
and  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence  ?  If  I 
ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there ;  if  I  make  my 
bed  in  hell,  behold  thou  art  there ;  if  1  take  the 
wings  of  the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost 
parts^  of  the  sea ;  even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead 
me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me."  Ps.  139. 
This  upholding  power  is  properly  due  to  none  but 
God ;  and  hence  we  derive  an  irresistible  argument 
for  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus ;  since  he  who 
thus  upholds  must  be  omniscient,  omnipotent,  and 
omnipresent,  that  is,  must  be  God;  and  since  this 
preservation  is  ascribed  to  Christ,  Heb.  1:3:  "  Who 
being  the  brightness  of  his  glory,  and  the  express 
image  of  his  person,  and  upholding  all  things  by 
the  word  of  his  power ;"  and  Col.  1 : 1'?,  "  All  things 
were  created  by  him  and  for  him ;  and  he  is  before 
all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist." 

The  view  which  we  here  take  of  Providence, 
regards  the  universe  of  mind  and  matter,  not  as  a 
machine,  wound  up  and  left  to  run  its  career  of 
centuries,  without  the  Maker's  care,  but  as  requiring 
and  receiving  at  every  moment  his  mighty  influence, 
a  stream  of  power  perpetually  proceeding  from  the 
Godhead.  The  very  essence  of  God  is^  therefore, 
everlastingly  present  with  every  atom  and  every 


THE   PEOVIDENCE    OF   GOD.  4l 

spirit.  This  is  exactly  accordant  to  those  places 
in  Scripture  where  God  is  spoken  of  as  the  uni- 
versal cause,  and  is  said  to  do  those  things  which 
are  done,  secondarily,  by  creatures.  Ps.  104:  8,  30. 
And  to  this  is  referred  the  supporting  of  life  in  the 
most  insignificant  birds.  Matt.  10:  29.  Enough  has 
been  said  in  regard  to  this  primary  acting  of  divine 
Providence,  in  preserving  all  things.  How  God 
does  this  it  would  be  madness  for  us  to  inquire. 
The  simplicity  of  the  divine  acts  causes  them  to 
elude  our  faculties.  He  wills  it,  and  that  ig 
Enough ;  just  as  at  the  beginning  he  willed  creation. 
'  "What  we  chiefly  need  is  to  bear  this  in  mind,  with 
daily  faith,  awe,  and  thankfulness.  Such  is  God's 
preserving  of  the  creature,  as  a  part  of  Providence. 

II.  But  there  is  another  equally  important  agen 
cy,  put  forth  by  the  infinite  Creator  ;  it  is  the  direc 
tion  of  all  things,  God  not  only  peeseeves  bu  ■ 
GOVEENS  the  universe  of  matter  and  spirit.  He 
continues  to  ^'  direct,  dispose,  and  govern  all  crea- 
tures, actions,  and  things,  from  the  greatest  even  to 
the  least,  by  his  most  t^ise  and  holy  providence, 
according  to  his  infallible  foreknowledge,  and  the 
^  free  and  immutable  counsel  of  his  own  will,  to  the 
praise  of  the  glory  of  his  wisdom,  power,  justice, 
goodness,  and  mercy."  C.  F.  c.  v.  1. 

What  is  to  be  proposed  will  have  regard  to  a 
twofold  objection;  against  God's  providence  con- 
cerning trifles^  and  his  providence  concerning  sins. 

And  here,  let  me  acknowledge,  I  have  often 
wondered  at  the  distinctions  taken  by  some  men 


42'  CONSOLATION. 

wlio  would  hold  rank  as  philosophei^,  but  wlio 
nevertheless,  affirm  a  general  while  they  deny  a 
particular  providence,  as  if  the  general  were  not 
made  up  of  the  particulars,  or  as  if  God  could  attend 
to  the  whole  without  attending  to  the  parts.  This 
error  is  perhaps  increased  by  our  forms  of  expression, 
allowable  in  themselves,  when,  for  example,  we  say 
of  this  or  of  that  event,  that  "  it  is  providential," 
when  in  very  deed  all  are  providential,  as  all  are 
ordered  from  the  greatest  to  the  least.  Under  pre- 
text of  exalting  God,  and  raising  him  above  the  care 
and  trouble  of  earthly. things,  we  betray  really  \ov^ 
notions  of  his  divinity.  We  judge  of  him  as  of  our- 
selves, and  of  God  as  if  he  were  man ;  our  language 
implies  that  what  is  burdensome  and  annoying  to  us 
must  be  so  to  him.  We  allow  him  to  direct  suns 
and  stars  and  comets,  and  things  in  heaven,  but  the 
sparrow  and  the  hairs  of  the  head  we  deem  too 
small  for  him.  Yet,  you  remember,  these  are  the 
very  instances  which  he  has  chosen.  That  which 
was  fit  to  be  created,  is  fit  to  be  preserved,  though 
it  be  the  infinitesimal  muscle  or  nerve  in  the  micros- 
copic animalcule  or  infusoria.  We  make  too  much 
of  our  distinctions  of  greater  and  smaller,  when  we 
carry  them  into  eternity :  such  quantities  reach  not 
Jehovah.  It  costs  him  no  more  thought,  no  more 
labour,  no  more  exertion,  to  maintain  an  atom  in  its 
sunbeam,  than  to  whirl  systems  of  suns  and  planets 
and  satellites  along  the  shining  galaxy.  In  this 
sense,  we  may  accept  as  true  the  celebrated  words 
of  the  poet,  though  false  in  another — 


THE   MiOVIDENCE    OF    GOD.  43 

"  Who  sees  with  equal  eye,  as  God  of  all, 
A  hero  perish,  or  a  sparrow  fall, 
Atoms  or  systems  into  ruin  hurled, 
And  now  a  bubble  burst,  and  now  a  world." 

Essay  on  Man^  1.  88. 

When  God  beholds  his  eternal  plan  spread  out 
in  the  infinite  idea  of  his  own  wisdom,  his  perfect 
knowledge  reaches  not  only  to  the  grand  portions, 
but  to  every  ramification  and  filament;  and  with 
perfect  ease  plans  and  directs  for  the  insect  of  an 
hour,  as  for  the  triumph  of  an  emperor.  "We,  there- 
fore, attribute  to  the  care  and  guidance  of  God  "  all 
things  without  exception,  whether  celestial  or  sub- 
lunary, small  or  great,  good  or  evil,  necessary  or 
free,  so  that  there  is  nothing  in  nature  which  can 
exist  or  occur,  without  his  distinct  permission."  If 
it  were  glorious  to  create,  why  not  to  govern  ?  God 
is  nowhere  greater  than  in  the  smallest  things — the 
plumage  of  the  insect,  and  the  circulation  of  a  sys- 
tem, the  very  existence  of  which  is  revealed  to  us  by 
the  solar  microscope.  God  is  in  such  wise  great  in 
great  things,  that  he  is  no  less  great  in  the  very 
least.  This  ought  to  answer  the  objection  drawn 
from  the  littleness  of  the  afikirs  which  a  particular 
providence  would  refer  to  God. 

But  there  is  another  objection  to  our  doctrine 
of  God's  government  of  all  things,  which  has  still 
more  strongly  operated  to  make  some  banish  the 
Creator  from  his  moral  universe;  it  is  that  God's 
providence  cannot  have  any  thing  to  do  with  sinful 
acts ;  and  that  to  say  that  it  has,  were  to  destroy 
all  freedom  of  the  creature,  and  all  accountability 


i4  CONSOLATIOISr# 

for  crime.  It  may  be  well  to  say  at  once,  that  if 
we  assert  that  evil  acts  may  not  be  foreseen  and 
provided  for,  we  may  as  well  deny  the  Bible  at 
once.  There  never  was  a  more  evil  act  than  the 
death  of  Christ ;  yet  it  was  provided  for,  and  (not 
only  so)  was  indispensably  necessary  to  the  salva- 
tion of  men.  It  was  provided  for  during  ages  preced- 
ing; and  Peter  says  of  it  very  distinctly  (Acts  2  : 
23)  :  "  Him^  being  delivered  by  the  determinate 
counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken, 
and  with  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  slain." 
The  act  is  declared  to  be  wicked^  yet  it  is  equally 
declared  to  be  by  the  "  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God;"  therefore,  acts  which  are 
evil  may  be  included  in  the  plan  of  Providence.  A 
lesser,  but  equally  demonstrative  case,  is  that  of 
Joseph.  The  act  of  his  brethren,  in  selling  him 
into  Egypt,  was  an  evil  act,  yet  it  was  governed  by 
Providence.  It  was  all  arranged  and  foreseen.  It 
formed  a  part  of  God's  plan.  It  was  intended  to 
produce  the  most  beneficial  results.  What  says 
Joseph  ?  (Gen.  45 :  7,  8.)  "  God  sent  me  before 
you.  It  was  not  you  that  sent  me  hither,  but 
God."  And  again  (50 :  20) :  "  As  for  you,  ye 
thouo^ht  evil  ao^ainst  me,  b-zit  God  meant  it  unto 
good,  to  bring  to  pass,  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save  much 
people  ahve."  Now,  here  I  would  ask  of  every  ob- 
jector two  questions:  1.  Was  the  sending  of  Joseph 
to  Egypt  providential  or  not  ?  To  this  there  can 
be  but  one  answer :  Scripture  gives  answer  in  God's 
name :  "  God  sent  me  before  you."     2.  Was  the  act 


THE   PEOVIDENCE   OF   GOD.  45 

of  selling  Joseph  sinful  ?  There  is  no  answer,  but 
one,  in  the  words  of  Joseph ;  "  Ye  thought  evil,  but 
God  meant  it  for  good."  Ye  thought  evil ;  here  is 
sin:  God  meant  it  unto  good ;  here  is  providence. 
So  hkewise  in  the  case  of  the  Assyrian  invading  and 
punishing  the  Hebrews  (Isa.  10  :  6,  7)  :  "I  will  send 
him  against  a  hypocritical  nation,  and  against  the 
people  of  my  wrath  will  I  give  him  a  charge,  to 
take  the  spoil  and  to  take  the  prey,  and  to  tread 
them  down  like  the  mire  of  the  streets.  Howbeit 
he  meaneth  not  so,  neither  doth  his  heart  think  so ; 
but  it  is  in  his  heart  to  destroy  and  cut  off  nations 
not  a  few."  The  Assyrian  committed  crime  in  his 
invasion;  yet  he  thereby  worked  out  the  results 
which  God  intended.  In  the  commission  of  his 
crime,  he  was  perfectly  free,  and  perfectly  account- 
able; yet  this  crime  was  not  only  foreseen,  but, 
as  we  observe,  predicted  by  the  Almighty.  God 
was  not  the  author  of  the  sin,  though  the  sin  oc- 
curred providentially ;  and,  foreseeing  this,  God  re- 
cognizes his  accountability,  and  denounces  punish- 
ment (v.  12):  ^'Wherefore  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  when  the  Lord  hath  performed  his  whole  work 
upon  Mount  Zion,  and  on  Jerusalem,  I  will  punish 
the  fruit  of  the  stout  heart  of  the  king  of  Assyria, 
and  the  glory  of  his  high  looks."  If  we  do  not  re- 
cognize this  intervention  of  Providence  in  regard  to 
the  free  acts  of  creatures,  we  can  never  interpret 
those  judgments  of  God  which  are  wrought  by 
wicked  men.  "  Saul  took  a  sword,  and  fell  upon 
it."      (1  Chr.    10:  4.)      It   was   his  own   act — his 


4«)  CONSOLATION 

wicked  act ;  yet  what  saith  the  Scriptures  ?  (v.  13)  i 
"So  Saul  died,  for  his  transgression  which  he  com- 
mitted against  the  Lord.  And  he  inquired  not  of 
the  Lord ;  therefore  He  slew  him,  and  returned  the 
kingdom  unto  David,  the  son  of  Jesse.""  This  may 
serve  to  show  how  grave  an  error  is  committed  by 
many  persons  in  certain  expressions  of  theirs.  We 
hear  them  say,  for  example,  "  I  could  bear  this 
trial  better  if  there  were  any  thing  providential  in 
it — if  it  proceeded  from  any  direction  of  God ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  it  proceeds  from  wicked  men."  Very 
well;  so  it  may,  and  yet  be  providential.  "The 
wicked,"  says  David,  are  "thy  sword."  God  can 
make  the  wicked  acts  of  men  a  sword  to  punish 
others,  and  even  themselves.  The  conspiracy 
against  Christ  was  wicked ;  yet  the  early  believers 
said,  and  said  in  prayer  to  God  (Acts  4 :  27), 
"  For  of  a  truth  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom 
thou  hast  anointed,  both  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate, 
with  the  Gentiles  and  people  of  Israel,  were  gather- 
ed together,  for  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand  and  thy 
counsel  determined  before  to  be  done."  Here  the 
wicked  acts  of  men  come  clearly  within  the  scope 
of  Providence.  Here  is  evidently  joined  with  the 
permission  of  sins  that  "  most  wise  and  powerful 
bounding,  and  otherwise  ordering  and  governing  of 
them,  in  a  manifold  dispensation  to  his  own  holy 
ends,  yet  so  as  the  sinfulness  thereof  proceedeth 
only  from  the  creature,  and  not  from  God,  who, 
being  most  holy  and  righteous,  neither  is  nor  can  be 
the  author  or  approver  of  sin."     The  instances  above 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD,  4*7 

given,  whicli  were  free  and  contingent  witH  regard 
to  their  actors,  are  expressly  ascribed  to  Divine  Pro- 
vidence. And  is  there  not  a  consolation  'in  so  be- 
lieving? Suppose  we  assert  providence  of  good 
things  only,  and  not  of  bad:  what  follows?  That 
which  we  most  dread,  and  which  alone  can  do  us 
harm,  namely,  the  wickedness  of  men  and  devils,  is 
placed  beyond  the  providential  guidance  of  God. 
Surely,  there  is  no  comfort  in  belie^dng  that  the 
worst,  and  most  atrocious  and  destructive  acts  of 
men  are  under  the  dominion  of  blind  chance !  Yet 
such  is  the  common  opinion  of  worldly  men  on  this 
subject.  The  government  of  God,  indeed,  with  re- 
gard to  evil  acts,  is  different  from  his  government 
in  regard  to  holy  acts.  He  may  include  both  in 
his  most  wise  plan,  but  he  contemplates  free  acts  as 
free  acts,  and  in  no  degree  puts  forth  any  causative 
influence  to  tempt  or  compel  to  the  commission  of 
them.  That  there  are  difficulties  here  we  do  not 
for  a  moment  deny  ;  but  they  are  such  as  arise  from 
the  depths  of  the  divine  nature,  and  the  short 
sounding-line  of  human  reason.  In  two  things  we 
all  agree.  We  must  all  admit  God's  permission  of 
evil.  Without  this  permission  it  could  never  have 
existed.  God  was  clearly  under  no  necessity  of 
having  sin  in  the  universe.  He  could  clearly  have 
made -men  without  the  faculty  of  sinning;  or  he 
could  have  made  a  system  without  men ;  or  he 
could  have  forborne  from  making  any  system  at  alL 
The  evil  in  the  universe  is  clearly  under  God's  per- 
mission :  he  suffers  it  to  exist.     In  this,  I  say,  wo 


4s  CONSOLATION. 

all  agree.  Tiiere  is  another  thing  in  which  we  all 
agree,  and  between  these  two  limits  of  undeniable 
truth  our  opinions  have  room  to  oscillate.  We  all 
agree  that  God  has  no  participation  in  moral  evil. 
Though  he  permits  it,  as  the  product  of  free  crea- 
tures, he  hates  it.  Our  church  has  been  charged 
with  holding  that  God  is  the  author  of  the  sin  of 
sinful  acts ;  on  the  contrary,  it  says .  "  The  sinful- 
ness thereof  proceedeth  only  from  the  creature,  and 
not  from  God."  ^  "  Let  no  man  say  when  he  is 
tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God ;  for  God  cannot  be 
tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any  man." 
God  could  annihilate  the  sinful  creature  the  mo- 
ment his  free  nature  breaks  forth  into  sin.  In 
his  infinite  wisdom  he  has  chosen  to  do  otherwise, 
and  to  uphold  the  existence  of  the  creature  even 
when  rebelling  against  him,  yet  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  the  taint  and  pollution  belong  only  to  the 
sinner. 

All  the  creatures  of  God,  then,  and  all  their 
acts,  are  governed  by  his  most  wise,  and  holy,  and 
omnipotent  providence,  to  work  out  his  own  excel- 
lent glory.  This  is  God's  ultimate  end  in  creation. 
No  other  can  be  conceived  of  To  make  any  thing 
but  God  his  own  end,  were  to  set  something  above 
God.  When  as  yet  there  was  no  creation,  and  no 
providence,  God  contained  in  himself  all  the  rea- 
sons of  what  was  afterwards  to  be ;  and  these  rea- 
sons still  remain.  To  create,  was  in  a  manner  to 
reveal    himself, — the    earliest  revelation;    not   by 

*  Conf.  F.  c.  V. 


THE  PEOVIDENCE   OF   GOB.  49 

words,  but  acts,  and  every  creature,  *witli  all  that 
proceeds  from  it,  is  a  part  of  this  display.  The  ad- 
dition of  spiritual  and  intellectual  agencies,  men 
and  angels,  to  the  otherwise  brute  fabric  of  God's 
works,  afforded  indeed  spectators  of  this  glory,  and 
judges  of  this  skill ;  and  the  quality  of  choice,  free- 
dom, or  voluntary  action  possessed  by  these  beings, 
introduces  a  new  principle  into  the  universe  ;  one 
which  separates  morals  from  nature,  and  one  in 
which  the  Most  High  appears  to  take  the  greatest 
complacency.  For  we  know  of  nothing  which  God 
so  loves,  or  which  he  purchases  at  so  high  a  rate,  as 
the  free  love  of  a  creature.  This  exalts  his  benevo- 
lence, and  is  the  key  to  many  of  his  dispensations. 
But  all  creature  minds,  however  spiritual  and  how 
ever  free,  are  infinitely  inferior  to  Jehovah,  and  in- 
finitely too  small  to  afford  the  real  motive  of  the 
universe,  which  must  have  bev3n  eternal, — which 
must  have  been  God.  All  the  boundless  combina- 
tions and  interchanges  of  matter  and  mind  (the  lat- 
ter being  far  the  more  complicated  and  wonderful), 
all  the  play  of  wheel  in  wheel,  of  cause  in  cause,  of 
thought  in  thought,  of  passion  in  passion,  conspire 
to  work  out  one  and  the  same  result — the- glory  of 
God.  "  For  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to  him, 
are  all  things." 

What  a  dismal  view  is  that  which  epicurean  -- 
fidelity  takes  of  this  universal  frame  !  God  is  no*- 
in  all  his  works  !  He  has  left  them.  As  if  I  should 
be  introduced  to  a  lofty,  wide,  and  noble  palace : 
its  walls  are  strength ;  every  quality  of  a  magnifi* 
4 


60  CONSOLATION. 

cent  structui'ifis  there  ;  all  is  convenience  and  orna- 
ment. I  gaze  on  its  sublime  colonnades,  its  sculp 
tured  friezes,  its  statued  walls,  its  interior  deco- 
rations. What  is  there  left  to  be  desired  ?  One 
thing :  it  has  no  inhabitant.  Such  is  the  universe 
without  a  providence.  Deny  the  actual  and  efficient 
presence  of  God  in  his  works  (and  this  is  provi- 
dence), and  you  leave  me  a  world  without  reason. 
You  give  me  no  assurance  that  the  very  next  mo- 
ment may  not  produce  some  general  and  direful 
satastrophe,  involving  all  in  common  destruction, 
without  respect  to  character,  swallowing  np  the  good 
as  well  as  the  evil :  for  to  provide  for  a  difference 
between  them  would  be  a  providence.  The  pro- 
gress of  history  is  a  tangled  web,  but  its  develop- 
ments are  chaos  indeed,  without  God.  The  unfolding 
of  God's  design  is  history.  It  is  he  who  changes  dy- 
nasties, and  over  the  convulsion  of  revolutionary  war, 
makes  a  highway  for  his  own  glorious  approach.  The 
study  of  human  records,  of  daily  journals,  and  even 
of  legislative  and  diplomatic  documents,  throw  very 
little  light  on  the  riddle  of  history.  The  great  he- 
roic instruments  themselves  know  little.  But  the 
study  of  revelation,  which  is  God's  key  to  providence, 
reveals  to  the  believer  more  than  the  world  dreamed 
of.  Nebuchadnezzar,  Cyrus,  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  the  Koman  power,  were  all  foreshown  to 
Daniel  in  the  visions  of  Chaldea.  Compare  with 
this  the  foresight  of  the  great  minds  themselves, 
and  how  clearly  do  we  perceive  that  it  is  not  they, 
but  Provid(mce,  that  laid  the  plan.    Think  you  that 


THE   PKOVIDENCE   OF  GOD.  61 

Nebuchadnezzar  dreamed,  wlien  lie  was  consolidat- 
ing his  mighty  empire,  that  it  should  presently  be 
given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians  ?  As  little,  as  that 
the  great  Euphrates  should  be  turned  out  of  its 
bed :  and  yet  both  took  place.  Think  you  the 
young,  adventurous  Macedonian,  as  he  swept  over 
Asia,  conceived  that  in  that  same  Babylon  he  should 
die  of  his  debaucheries  ?  Or  Caesar,  just  arrived  at 
the  summit  of  power,  with  the  republic  at  his  feet, 
that  he  should  perish  by  the  daggers  of  his  friends  ? 
Or  Napoleon,  that  he  should  die  a  lingering  death 
in  a  remote  isle  ?  Or  Charles  the  Tenth,  or  Louis 
Philippe,  that  they  should  become  fugitives,  and 
die  in  exile  ?  As  little  as  the  great  planners,  legis- 
lators, and  orators  of  Europe  know  this  day  what 
shall  be  the  succeeding  revolutions  of  the  wheel. 
But  God  knows.  And  God  has  been  pleased  to  dis- 
close some  glimpses  of  his  plan.  He  shows  us 
a  delicate  but  perceptible  thread,  running  as  a  gold- 
en clew  through  all  these  transactions  and  changes, 
even  when  most  wilful  and  most  unexpected.  Gov- 
ernments, nations,  and  languages  decay ;  but  the 
Church  remains.  It  is  the  great  organ  for  manifest- 
ing God's  glory,  and  for  exalting  his  Son.  For  we 
live  under  a  mediatorial  dispensation,  and  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  are  to  become  the  kingdoms  of 
God,  and  of  his  Christ. 

Nor  let  the  humble  Christian  fear,  lest  amid  the 
greatness  of  such  events,  his  little  individual  inter- 
ests should  be  forgotten  or  overlooked.  Oh  no ! 
It  is  a  blessed  thing  to  be  on  the  side  of  One,  of 


52  CONSOLATION. 

whom,  and  through  whom,  and  to  whom  are  all 
things.  We  have  seen  it  to  be  a  characteristic  glo- 
ry of  God's  knowledge  and  acts,  that  he  can  conde- 
scend to  the  infinitely  small,  as  well  as  stretch  his 
creative  hand  to  the  infinitely  great.  Amidst  the 
voices  from  the  throne,  which  tell  of  the  fall  of  em- 
pires, and  the  triumph  of  Immanuel,  we  hear  also  a 
whisper  of  love,  saying  to  the  Church,  "  Fear  not, 
little  flock :  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give 
you  the  kingdom ;"  and  saying  to  the  believer,  "  The 
very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered."  "  Take 
no  thought  for  the  morrow."  "  Your  Father  know- 
eth  that  ye  have  need  of  these  things."  Ah!  I 
know  the  sneering  objection  which  poor,  self-tor- 
menting skepticism  makes  to  this  particular  provi- 
dence. In  his  zeal  to  make  himself  an  orphan  in 
the  universe,  he  denies  that  God  can  take  any  meas- 
ures for  the  relief  of  individual  cases.  This  would 
be  to  step  aside  from  his  original  plan.  Hence  the 
vulgar  objections  to  trusting  in  God's  help  in  emer- 
gencies, or  to  praying  for  it.  How  preposterous 
(such  an  one  tells  us)  to  think  that  God  will  vary 
from  the  line  of  his  sublime  acts,  to  meet  the  case 
of  a  poor  woman,  or  an  insignificant  child.  True 
enough  :  but  God  does  not  vary  ;  he  does  not  devi- 
ate. That  emergency,  that  distress,  that  cry,  that 
deliverance,^— all  are  parts  of  the  plan,  links  of  the 
chain ;  and  this  is  precisely  what  we  mean  by  provi- 
dence. The  ignorance  and  obtuseness  are  all  on  the 
side  of  the  scoffer,  who  does  not  perceive,  what  I 
nave  earnestly  pressed  before,  that  free  acts  of  crea^ 


THE  PEOVIDENCE   OF   GOD.  63 

tures  are  equally  in  the  plan  ;  and  hence,  when  God 
turns  aside  the  arrow  from  the  heart  of  his  praying 
child,  he  does  what  he  foresaw  tc  be  done,  even 
from  eternal ^es.  I  wonder,  therefore,  more  than 
I  can  express,  that  one  of  the  acutest  wits  that  ever 
wrote,  should  so  play  into  the  hands  of  the  vulgar 
and  the  superficial,  as  in  these  lines,  which  embrace 
the  popular  notion : 

"  Shall  burning  Etna,  if  a  sage  require, 
Forget  to  thunder,  and  recall  her  fire  ? 
On  air  or  sea  new  motions  be  imprest, 
O  blameless  Bethel],  to  relieve  thy  breast"? 
When  the  loose  mountain  trembles  from  on  high, 
Shall  gravitation  cease,  if  you  go  by? 
Or  some  old  temple,  nodding  to  its  fall. 
For  Chartres'  head  reserve  the  hanging  wall  ?" 

Here  is  more  wit  than  reason.  To  each  of  these 
questions  we  may,  in  a  sound  sense,  answer,  Yes. 
Etna  hath  no  fires,  but  for  God's  purpose.  Gravita- 
tion has  no  cogency  an  instant  longer  than  God 
stands  by  to  act.  And  when  the  tower  falls,  wheth- 
er in  judgment  or  not,  it  falls  just  where  and  when 
infinite  wisdom  has  predetermined  it  should  fall. 
And  if  this  concur  with  the  earnest  believing  prayer 
of  God's  child,  it  is  not  an  exception  to  the  gene- 
ral rule,  or  a  deviation  from  the  plan,  but  a  substan- 
tial part  of  what  was  provided  for;  that  is,  it  is 
providence.  It  is  therefore  as  philosophical  as  it  is 
pious,  for  the  child  of  God  to  trust  in  him,  and  re- 
sort to  him.  The  Almighty  is  never  greater  than 
when  he  stoops  to  the  wants  and  weaknesses  of  his 


54  CONSOLATION. 

suffering  people.  His  words  of  promise,  especially 
as  they  fell  from  tlie  lips  of  tlie  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
are  surpassingly  sweet  and  encouragmg.  They  oc- 
cupy much  of  the  sermon  on  the  moujrt.  Its  latter 
parts  are  an  application  of  the  doctrine  of  Provi- 
dence. And  I  solemnly  charge  every  follower  of 
Christ  to  believe,  that  he  is  never  more  reasonably 
engaged,  than  when  he  is  casting  himself  on  the 
Divine  Providence.  Instead  of  shuddering  in  chilly 
doubt  as  to  particular  providence,  be  assured  yQU 
cannot  conceive  of  a  providence  more  particular  than 
that  which  is.  Superstition  may  take  that  for  provi- 
dence which  is  only  its  own  morbid  fancy.  Pre- 
sumption may  rely  on  Providence,  in  idle,  insolent 
neglect  of  means.  But  true  faith  will  still  cling  to  the 
belief,  that  the  sparrow's  fall  is  not  too  particular  for 
God's  plan.  It  is  our  privilege,  not  only  to  hope  in 
Providence,  with  regard  to  the  lesser  affairs  of  life, 
but  to  recognize  it — to  see  God's  hand  in  our  daily 
walk,  with  wonder  and  love.  "  They  that  observe 
providences,  shall  have  providences  to  observe." 
The  simple  faith  of  the  patriarchs  saw  God's  hand 
in  every  thing  that  befell  them ;  and  so  might  we. 
I  appeal  to  aged  and  observant  Christians,  whether 
the  happiest  persons  they  ever  knew,  have  not  been 
those  who  were  most  ready  to  eye  God  in  all  the 
events  of  life :  in  health  and  sickness,  in  business,  and 
in  family  occurrences.  Let  us  hope  in  Providence. 
Let  us  hope  mightily.  "  But  I  will  hope  continual- 
ly, and  will  yet  praise  thee  more  and  more."  Do 
days  look  dark  ?     O  remember,  every  cloud  is  gov* 


THE   l^ROVIDENOB    OF   GOD.  65 

erned  by  the  God  of  truth  and  the  God  of  power. 

The  house  in  which  you  dwell  is  not  without  a  mas* 

ter.     He  has  issued  his  promise. 

v 
"  His  very  word  of  grace  is  strong, 
As  that  which  built  the  skies ; 
The  voice  that  rolls  the  stars  along, 
Speaks  all  the  promises." 

Though  sorrow  may  endure  for  a  night,  yet  joy 
Cometh  in  the  morning.  It  is  all  the  more  likely 
to  come,  for  your  trusting.  "  Blessed  are  all  they 
that  put  their  trust  in  him."  Especially  delight- 
ful is  the  thought,  that  the  world  of  mind  is  un- 
der providence ;  that  thoughts,  and  feelings,  and 
frames,  and  free  acts,  are  controlled  by  infinite  wis- 
dom ;  and  that  our  spiritual  condition  is  under  the 
same  guidance  which  regulates  our  birth  and  death. 
Cling  fast  to  the  hand  which  is  leading  you.  Though 
it  be  through  darkness,  though  it  be  in  deep  waters, 
you  know  whom  you  have  believed.  Yield  not  for 
a  single  moment  to  misgivings  about  future  storms 
or  shipwrecks,  as  though  any  paii:  of  your  religious 
voyage  could  fall  out  by  chance.  liiflnite  love, 
joined  to  infinite  skill,  shall  pilot  the  way  through 
every  strait,  and  temptation,  and  peril.  God  has 
ever  loved  to  place  his  people  where  they  had  none 
to  hope  in  but  him  only.  Your  own  experience 
probably  recalls  such  times.  Let  the  recollection  be 
for  your  abundant  encouragement  and  support.  Re- 
pose on  the  arm  which  has  never  failed  you  hither- 
to.    And  bring  in  the  aid  of  a  nobler  consideration, 


56  CONSOLATIOIir. 

drawn  from  an  object  higher  than  your  own  per- 
sonal, temporary  happiness.  Love  to  God  is  love 
to  his  honour.  If  by  your  means  his  great  name 
can  be  exalted ;  if,  even  by  trying  dispensations  to 
you,  Christ's  praise  can  be  diffused,  you  will  joyful- 
ly cry,  "  Let  him  be  magnified,  by  body  and  soul, 
whether  in  life  or  death."  All  things  work  together 
for  the  divine  glory :  this  is  a  stable  truth  ;  but — 
blessed  be  his  name — ^it  is  equally  true,  that  "  all 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God,  to  them  who  are  called  according  to  his  pur- 
pose." Such  reliance  is  very  different  from  the 
inert  repose  of  the  Mussulman  on  his  Fate.  It  is 
reliance  on  a  present  God,  who  is  all  wisdom,  fore- 
sight, love  and  power.  He  can  cause  the  wrath  of 
man  to  praise  him ;  the  remainder  of  that  wrath  he 
can  restrain.  Even  you  who  disbelieve  and  rebel, 
shall  be  made  to  do  reluctant  honour  to  his  name. 
You  are  equally  swayed  by  his  Providence.  If  his 
condign  wrath  (which  may  he  forbid)  should  fall 
upon  you  in  the  other  world,  it  will  be  to  the  praise 
of  the  glory  of  his  justice.  But  how  infinite  wiU 
be  the  gain  to  you,  if  you  freely  accept  of  his  sal- 
vation, and  join  yourselves  to  the  number  of  those 
who  glorify  him,  not  in  spite  of  themselves,  not  by 
rebellion  and  woe,  but  by  the  willing  tribute  of 
joyful  service !  In  regard  to  your  own  happiness, 
holiness  and  perfection.  Providence  cannot  be  said 
to  be  on  your  side,  while  you  remain  unreconciled 
to  God.  And  this  is  a  very  unequal  war  in  which 
you  are  engaged;  for  who  can  stand  before  him^ 


THE   PEOVrOENOE   OF   GOD.  5*7 

when  once  he  is  angry  ?  God  will  educe  order  out 
of  confusion,  and  harmony  out  of  the  temporary  dis- 
cord, however  much  you  may  rebel ;  but  the  part 
of  wisdom  is  to  make  God's  interest  yours,  and  so 
to  join  yourselves  to  his  certain  triumph,  as  to  par- 
ticipate in  it.  Wherefore,  "  be  ye  reconciled  to 
God  !"  His  indignation  is  intolerable,  but  his  grace 
and  love  are  heaven.  And  they  are  yours,  on  ac- 
ceptance. None  can  stay  his  hand,  when  he  hath  a 
purpose  to  bless.  He  works  out  his  own  irresistible 
decrees.  "  For  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to 
him  are  all  things  ;  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever. 
Amen." 


THE  SAME  SUBJECT  IN  ITS  APPLICATION 
TO  THE  WHOLE  PATH  OP  LIFE. 


X%1  LIB 

#/     V^       OF  THE  ^ 

UNIVERSITY 


11HE  course  of  God's  providence  in  regard  to  his 
-  own  people  is  dark  and  inexplicable.  The 
principles  on  which  it  is  conducted  are  secrets  of 
God's  court :  it  is  not  wonderful  that  we  should  be 
ignorant  of  them.  We  are  in  darkness  even  with 
respect  to  the  ends  for  which  God  is  employing  us. 
It  is  natural  that  many  of  the  intermediate  events 
should  be  contrary  to  our  expectation.  Not  more 
devious  or  unexpected  were  the  successive  journey- 
ings  of  Israel  in  the  desert  than  are  the  ways  of  the  be- 
liever in  his  pilgrimage.  It  is  enough  for  him  to  know 
that  his  way  is  not  fortuitous,  but  that  every  step  is 
directed  by  a  Providence  which  has  the  same  resi 
dence  with  the  Grace  from  which  he  hopes  for  sal- 
vation— a  Providence  which  consults  and  disposes 
for  the  falling  of  every  hair. 

In  looking  back  on  life,  there  is,  perhaps,  no 
Christian  who  does  not  acknowledge  that  his  way 
has  been  such  as  to  contravene  all  his  expectations 
and  purposes,  and  many  of  his  wishes  and  fears. 
Yet  there  is  no  well-instructed  believer  who  does 
not  likewise  admit,  that  the  way  has  been  a  light 
way,  and  that  the  most  adverse  events  are  part  of  a 


62  CONSOLATIONS. 

wise,  sovereign,  and  merciful  arrangement.  Igno- 
rant as  we  are  both  of  our  own  strength  and  our 
own  weakness,  of  the  work  which  the  Master  de- 
mands, the  preparation  which  he  would  effect,  and 
the  dangers  which  he  foresees  as  awaiting  us,  it 
would  be  the  height  of  presumption  for  us  to  choose 
our  own  path.  In  our  best  hours,  it  is  our  consola- 
tion that  those  things  which  we  cannot  control  are 
governed  by  One  who  loves  us  better  than  we  love 
ourselves.  Who  would  give  the  babbling,  puling 
infant  a  voice  in  the  conduct  of  its  little  life  ?  yet 
the  comparison  is  all  in  our  favour.  The  infant  is 
wiser  and  mightier,  when  compared  with  the  parent 
— ^need  I  say  it  ? — than  are  we,  when  compared  with 
God.  The  wonder  is  that  we  should  ever  dream  of 
taking  the  direction  of  our  own  affairs.  The  mercy 
is  that  they  are  under  the  superintendence  of  Him 
who  is  infinitely  able  to  govern  and  bless.  The 
ravings  of  the  wildest  storm  which  threatens  our 
vessel  are  regular  parts  of  the  plan,  agreeably  to 
which  the  Sovereign  of  nature  and  grace  is  conduct- 
ing us  towards  a  state  of  rest. 

"We  shall  now  be  led,  Jh^st^  to  contemplate  the 
truth,  that  while  man,  through  ignorance,  cannot 
order  his  life,  God  does  order  it ;  and  secondly^  to 
deduce  the  practical  lessons  which  flow  from  this 
truth. 

We  can  never  see  this  world  in  its  true  light 
unless  we  consider  it  as  a  state  of  discipline — a  con- 
dition through  which  we  are  passing  to  fit  us  for 
another.     It  belongs  to  such  a  state  to  be  very  dif 


god's  guidance.  63 

lerent  from  a  state  of  rest  and  accomplishment. 
Many  things  must  necessarily  pertain  to  it  which 
are  but  for  a  season;  many  things  which  are  not 
good  in  themselves,  but  good  with  relation  to  the 
end  that  is  sought.  To  understand  such  a  condition 
of  discipline  presupposes  a  knowledge  of  several 
particulars  which  are  beyond  the  reach  of  humaa 
minds  in  their  present  state ;  for  we  must  know, 
first;  what  the  end  is  for  which  the  Supreme  Gov- 
ernor is  preparing  us ;  then,  the  true  state  and  char- 
acter of  our  own  souls,  with  all  their  peculiarities 
and  defects,  which  make  such  a  discipline  necessary ; 
and  lastly,  the  suitableness  of  every  particular  of 
such  discipline  to  produce  the  end  desired.  This, 
it  needs  but  a  little  reflection  to  see,  is  far  beyond 
our  intellectual  power.  Especially  is  this  seen 
when  we  take  notice  that  the  problem  is  disturbed 
and  darkened  by  involving  some  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult and  inscrutable  questions,  such  as  the  origin  of 
evil,  the  nature  of  spiritual  temptation,  the  decrees 
of  God,  and  how  far  his  providence  may  be  said  to 
concur  in  the  product  of  those  acts  which,  so  far  as 
we  are  concerned,  are  sinful.  And  the  reason  why 
these  inexplicable  questions  are  connected  with  the 
subject  is,  that  our  discipline  in  this  world  includes 
not  merely  the  outward  dispensations  of  God's  pro- 
vidence, but  the  free  act  of  creatures,  ourselves  and 
others,  and  these  as  well  when  they  are  evil  as 
well  as  when  they  are  good.  It  is  the  prerogative 
of  God  alone  to  deal  with  sin  without  contracting 
any  taint.     While  he  cannot  be   tempted  to  evil, 


64  CONSOLATION. 

neither  tempteth  any  man  ;  and  wHle  to  make  God 
the  author  of  sin  is  impious,  it  is,  nevertheless,  true, 
that  sin  is  within  the  sphere  of  his  providential  ar- 
rangements ;  and  his  providence  has  such  a  refer* 
ence  to  sin  as  to  carry  with  it,  as  we  have  seen, 
a  "  bounding,  and  otherwise  ordering  and  fore- 
seeing of  them,  in  a  manifold  dispensation,  to  his 
own  holy  ends,  yet  so  as  the  sinfulness  thereof  pro- 
ceedeth  only  from  the  creature,  and  not  from  God." 

The  connection  of  this  with  our  subject  will  be 
more  apparent,  if  we  consider  that  all  our  other  tri- 
als are  light  and  unimportant  when  compared  with 
those  which  proceed  from  human  freedom,  that  is, 
from  the  sins  of  ourselves  and  others.  The  direct 
visitations  of  God,  in  the  storm,  the  pestilence,  in 
wounds  and  sufferings  and  death,  admit  of  more 
solace  than  those  which  flow  from  the  unhallowed 
passions  of  men ;  and  even  these  carry  a  less  poig- 
nant sting  than  our  own  shameful  neglects  and  trans- 
gressions, which  wound  the  soul  again  and  again, 
and  keep  us  mourning  as  long  as  we  are  in  the  flesh. 
Yet  even  thfese  are  ordered  in  wisdom  and  benig- 
nity ;  and  we  take  but  a  narrow  view  of  Providence, 
and  of  our  own  way,  unless  we  regard  them  as  parts 
of  a  manifold  dispensation,  intended  for  our  good. 

When  aged  David  lies  under  the  rebukes  of  a 
vituperative  foe,  he  exclaims :  "  So  let  him  curse, 
because  the  Lord  hath  said  unto  him,  Curse  David." 
Not  that  the  holy  king  would  impute  the  sin  to  his 
Maker,  but  that  he  considers  the  wicked  as  God's 
sword,  and  their  free  transgressions  as  overruled  tc 


god's  guidakce.  6d 

effect  his  chastisement.  It  is  the  province  of  Jeho- 
vah to  bring  good  out  of  evil ;  but  his  method  of 
doing  so  is  among  the  darkest  of  his  ways. 

Still  more  painful  is  the  doubt,  when  we  are 
ourselves  surprised  by  sin.  Amidst  the  necessary 
and  useful  paroxysms  of  shame  and  grief  which  fol- 
low transgression,  we  do  not  find  time  or  heart  to 
turn  our  thoughts  to  this  providential  aspect  of  the 
subject.  Yet  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  all  our 
frailties,  defects,  and  offences  are  so  governed  by  the 
supreme  Providence,  as  to  work  out  our  greater  sal- 
vation, and  the  greater  glory  of  divine  grace.  But 
here  again,  while  the  result  is  certain,  we  are  abso- 
lutely incompetent  to  understand  the  means,  and  in 
this  respect  the  way  of  man  is  not  in  himself  We 
can  only  bow,  and  yield  ourselves  with  implicit  sub- 
mission to  the  awful  hand  of  that  Providence  which 
leadelh  the  blind  by  a  way  that  they  know  not. 

To  say  that  a  man  is  incompetent  to  direct  his 
own  way,  is  only  to  say,  that  in  a  tangled  forest,  full 
of  pitfalls,  a  wanderer  at  midnight,  without  light,  path 
or  compass,  is  unable  to  choose  his  liirection.  In 
the  pilgrimage  of  this  world,  we  know  not  whither 
we  are  going,  or  what  God  intends  to  do  with  us. 
The  pillar  of  cloud  which  guides  us  is  absolutely  in- 
dependent of  our  disposal ;  yet  we  are  bound  to  be 
governed  by  its  motion  and  its  rest.  The  spirit  of 
the  declaration  is  still  in  force :  "  At  the  command- 
ment of  the  Lord  the  children  of  Israel  journeyed, 
and  at  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  they  pitched 
aa  long  as  the  cloud  abode  upon  the  tabernacle,  they 
.5 


66  CONSOLATION. 

rested  in  their  tents.  Or  whether  it  were  two  days, 
or  a  month,  or  a  year,  that  the  cloud  tarried  upon 
the  tabernacle,  remaining  thereon,  the  children  of 
Israel  abode  in  their  tents,  and  journeyed  not :  but 
when  it  was  taken  up,  they  journeyed."  We  must 
expect  God's  signals,  and  those  indications  which 
are  properly  called  the  leadings  of  his  providence. 
It  is  charged  among  the  sins  of  Israel,  that  "  they 
waited  not  for  his  counsel."  At  one  time  we  find 
them  disheartened  by  the  report  of  the  spies,  turn- 
ing back  in  heart  unto  Egypt,  weeping  tears  of 
vexation  all  night,  and  crying,  Would  God  that 
we  had  died  in  the  land  of  Egypt !  or  would  God 
we  had  died  in  this  wilderness  !  At  another,  they 
are  on  the  opposite  extreme,  rushing  upon  the 
Amalekites  and  Ganaanites,  without  command,  and 
driven  before  them  for  their  sins  with  great  discom- 
fiture. Our  course  is  similar,  when  we  idly  attempt 
to  force  a  way,  in  spite  of  Providence ;  when  we  re- 
pine at  our  lot,  or  violently  endeavour,  for  reasons 
other  than  those  of  plain  duty,  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  which  is  laid  upon  us,  or  to  break  into  new 
paths  which  our  Leader  has  not  opened.  The  folly 
of  such  endeavours  is  as  great  as  its  rebellion.  The 
horizon  of  our  ken  is  very  limited.  The  circle 
which  encloses  the  legitimate  field  of  our  planning 
and  management  is  small  indeed.  Our  way  is 
hedged  in  more  closely  than  we  are  apt  to  imagine ; 
and  the  freedom  Avith  which  we  flatter  ourselves  is 
checked  and  controlled  by  arrangements  beyond 
our  knowledgre  and  above  our  reach. 


god's  guidance.  6T 

Our  deplorable  ignorance  as  to  our  own  way  in 
life,  is  particularly  manifest  wlien  we  consider  that 
whole  trains  of  events,  such  as  give  colour  to  the 
entire  life,  are  often  dependent  on  a  trivial,  unfore- 
seen, and  apparently  casual  occurrence.  By  turning 
down  one  street  of  a  city,  instead  of  another,  a  man 
may  meet  the  person  by  whom  the  whole  current  of 
his  after  life  shall  be  determined.  That  Joseph, 
rather  than  some  other  messenger,  should  have  been 
sent  to  find  his  brethren  at  Shechem ;  that  Ishmael- 
ites  on  their  camels  should  have  come  up  in  the  nick 
of  time,  and  carried  him  a  slave  into  Egypt ;  that 
the  wife  of  Potiphar  should  have  become  his  ene- 
my ;  and  that  he  should  have  been  thrown  into 
prison,  were  all  what  we  call  fortuitous  and  unfortu- 
nate events.  So  far  as  his  brethren  were  concerned, 
their  machinations  were  malignant ;  yet  were  they 
all  threads  in  that  wonderful  web  of  Providence 
which  was  partially  unfolded  in  the  four  hundred 
years'  captivity,  and  more  fully  in  the  fortunes  of 
the  Jewish  nation,  and  the  plan  of  redemption.  "As 
for  you,  ye  thought  evil  against  me ;  but  God  meant 
it  for  good,  to  bring  to  pass  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save 
much  people  alive."  It  was  no  very  important  event, 
that  the  asses  of  Kish  the  Benjamite  should  have 
strayed ;  yet  this  fact  gave  Israel  a  king.  It  was  as 
unimportant  that  youthful  David  should  go  to  see 
his  brothers  at  the  camp  in  Elah ;  yet  this  led  to  the 
slaughter  of  Goliath,  and  a  change  of  the  dynasty, 
The  Ahithophels,  Machiavellis,  Kichelieus,  and  Met- 
*«rnichs  think  otherwise.     But  the  great  Oxenstierna 


68  CONSOLATIOI^. 

was  right,  when  lie  said,  "  See,  my  son,  with  how 
little  wisdom  the  world  is  governed !"  In  another 
sense,  it  is  governed  with  infinite  wisdom;  but 
God's.  In  his  hand,  a  diamond  necklace  may  cost 
a  queen  her  head,  and  destroy  a  kingdom :  a  king, 
who  has  been  deliberately  shot  at  again  and  again, 
may,  by  forbidding  one  banquet,  close  a  dynasty. 
And  every  day  of  our  lives  events  are  taking  place, 
of  which,  at  the  time,  we  make  no  account,  but 
which,  in  God's  providence,  are  the  pivots  on  which 
revolves  our  whole  subsequent  history.  Yet  the 
very  smallness  of  these  occurrences,  as  well  as  our 
ignorance  of  their  bearings,  would  for  ever  prevent 
our  arranging  or  ordering  them. 

Even  of  those  things  which,  in  a  limited  sense, 
may  be  said  to  be  within  our  power,  we  are  to  a 
great  degree  ignorant  whether  they  are  good  or  evil, 
whether  to  be  chosen  or  refused.  It  is  true,  even  to 
a  proverb,  that  what  we  consider  prosperity  and 
success,  often  results  in  lasting  evil ;  and  as  true, 
that  the  highest  earthly  happiness  results  from  events 
which  at  the  time  are  considered  disastrous.  And 
this  is  more  strikingly  evinced,  when  we  regard  the 
moral  consequences  of  such  occurrences,  and  observe 
that  prosperity  injures  the  soul,  and  that  the  richest 
spiritual  blessings  are  connected  with  suffering,  dis- 
appointment, and  defeat.  How  would  it  be  possi- 
ble for  us  to  choose  or  to  refuse  such  things,  if  the 
question  were  left  to  our  own  forecast  ?  Suppose,  for 
example,  that  any  man  were  to  sit  down  to  map  out  the 
course  of  future  life  for  himself.    Is  it  not  almost  ce 


god's  guidance.  69 

tain  tliat  his  draught  would  exclude  all  distresses 
and  trials  ?  Yet  we  know  upon  divine  authority, 
that  these  are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  discipline 
of  the  heart,  and  the  development  of  Christian  char- 
acter. But  who  could  undertake  to  insert  them  in 
due  measure,  and  at  the  proper  points  ?  What  hu- 
man toDgue  would  not  falter  in  saying.  At  such  a 
time  I  shall  be  laid  on  a  bed  of  wasting  sickness. 
At  such  a  time  I  shall  be  bereaved  of  a  beloved 
child,  or  of  an  invaluable  companion.  Here  I  shall 
suffer  contempt  and  calumny ;  and  there  I  shall  be 
vexed  with  indescribable  temptations.  How  truly 
do  we  find  it,  that  the  way  of  man  is  not  in 
himself ! 

What  has  been  said  is  true,  upon  the  just  suppo- 
sition, that  man  is  incompetent  to  choose  that  course 
which  is  best  for  him :  but  even  if  we  should  grant 
him  this  competency,  his  case  would  be  little  altered, 
because  he  is  able  in  but  a  slight  degree  to  effect 
that  which  he  may  choose.  Man  knows  not  how 
much  he  can  effect.  Boast  as  we  may  of  the  power 
of  human  determination,  the  ordering  of  the  events 
which  concern  us,  is  altogether  out  of  ourselves. 
As  we  gaze  with  interest  on  a  new-born  babe,  we 
can  no  more  predict  what  shall  be  the  tenor  of  its 
history,  than  we  can  declare,  as  we  look  into  a  moun- 
tain-spring, what  the  river  shall  be  which  is  to  issue 
from  it.  The  stream  may  pursue  a  direct  course  to 
its  termination,  or  it  may  turn  and  wander  a  thou- 
sand times.  It  may  go  noiselessly  through  sandy 
plains  of  ease,  and  stagnate  in  broad  shallows  of 


70  CONSOLATION. 

carnal  sloth,  or  it  may  force  its  way  throngli  cliffs 
of  opposition,  dash  over  cataracts  of  passion,  and 
reach  the  ocean  after  a  way  of  perpetual  turbulence. 
The  greatest  events  of  our  lives,  are  those  in  which 
we  have  no  option.  It  is  not  left  to  man's  determi- 
nation in  what  age  of  the  world  he  shall  be  born ; 
whether  in  Christian  or  in  savage  land ;  whether  poor 
6t  rich,  whether  feeble  or  hardy  ;  whether  a  genius 
or  a  fool ;  whether  he  shall  enjoy  parental  care,  or 
be  an  orphan  ;  whether  he  shall  dwell  in  a  realm  of 
peace,  or  have  his  whole  character  and  actions 
moulded  by  revolution  and  war.  And  we  might 
carry  out  the  enumeration  to  a  thousand  particulars, 
each  bearing  directly  on  his  happiness. 

It  would  seem  to  be  the  intention  of  God,  that 
the  lives  of  men  should  differ  as  much  as  their  coun- 
tenances, and  that  each  should  be  checkered  by  the 
most  unexpected  occurrences.  The  beautiful  biogra- 
phies of  the  Old  Testament  reveal  to  us  the  hand 
of  God,  leading  the  patriarchs  and  other  holy  men 
along  a  perpetual  pilgrimage,  in  which  they  are  as 
really  without  self-direction  as  was  Israel  in  the  wil- 
derness. Surely  the  way  of  Abram  was  not  in  him- 
self, when  God  called  him  out  of  the  East,  led  him 
into  Canaan,  and  into  Egypt,  and  through  a  long 
life  gave  him  no  inheritance,  no,  not  so  much  as  to 
set  his  foot  on.  The  wanderings  of  Jacob  were  as 
little  under  his  own  control.  When  the  twin  chil- 
dren, Esau  and  Jacob,  were  born,  no  aspect  of  the 
heavens  could  have  shown  that  their  course  of  life 
should  run  in  streams  so  divergent  and  unlike.    Mo- 


god's  guidance.  71 

ses,  and  Gideon,  and  David,  are  instances  quite  as 
worthy  of  our  meditation.  But  we  have  only  to 
look  back  upon  our  own  little  biography,  however 
quiet  and  uneventful  that  history  may  have  been, 
to  learn,  that  of  the  great  body  of  events,  very  few 
have  been  at  our  own  disposal.  A  higher  wisdom 
hath  determined  the  times  before  appointed,  and 
the  bounds  of  our  habitation ;  hath  ordered  how 
we  should  be  educated ;  the  time  of  our  conversion  ; 
the  field  of  our  labour ;  the  afflictions  which  have 
entered  into  our  discipline,  and  the  stations  which 
we  now  occupy.  The  picture  for  the  last  year  has 
for  its  chief  lights  and  shades,  events  as  totally  in- 
dependent of  our  will  as  the  eclipse  or  the  earth- 
quake. Nor  can  you  prognosticate  the  occurrences 
of  this  very  day,  any  more  certainly  than  the  course 
of  the  winds. 

But  by  the  way  of  man,  we  mean  surely  more 
than  that  chain  of  occurrences  which  strikes  the 
senses.  There  is  an  inner  life,  which,  though  unseen, 
is  loftier,  vaster,  and  more  eventful.  The  history  of 
the  man  is  the  history  of  his  immortal  part.  While 
men  look  on  the  panorama  of  sensible  things,  the 
poverty,  the  pleasures,  the  journ^s,  the  expeditions, 
the  wars,  the  disasters,  the  triumphs  of  our  race; 
eyes  are  gazing  upon  us  from  the  spiritual  world,  in- 
tent upon  those  great  realities  which  escape  us,  in 
the  pilgrimage  of  the  spirit ;  the  shade  and  texture 
of  the  reason ;  the  dangers,  and  crosses,  and  wounds 
of  the  moral  part ;  the  new  birth  of  the  soul ;  the 
mysterious    assaults   of  principalities  and   powers  ^ 


72  CONSOLATION. 

the  sublime  conflict  with  evil ;  the  armour,  the  tri 
umph,  and  the  salvation.  This,  of  a  truth,  is  the 
way  of  man ;  and  it  is  not  in  himself  The  wind 
bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound 
thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  or 
whither  it  goeth.  The  whole  ordering  of  the  means 
of  grace  is  by  a  sovereign  hand.  Appalling  as  the 
thought  is,  the  greatest  change  of  which  we  can  be 
the  subjects,  is  beyond  our  reach.  We  may  deny, 
murmur,  and  even  rage ;  the  truth  is  eternal :  I  will 
have  mercy  on  whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I  will 
have  compassion  on  whom  I  will  have  compassion. 
So  then  it  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him  that 
runneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy.  The 
most  placid  life  of  the  most  secluded  Christian  is  so 
pregnant  with  spiritual  events,  as  to  be  a  little  world 
of  itself.  And  these  events,  linked  in  with  eternal 
destiny,  are  not  of  the  creature's  choosing.  Enter 
for  a  little  while  into  the  mysterious  chambers  of 
memory,  and  contemplate  the  shadows  of  departed 
things  which  flit  across  those  walls.  How  unfore- 
seen— how  strange !  Was  it  your  wisdom  or  your 
will  which  ordered  that  for  so  many  years,  through 
so  great  temptations,  you  should  go  on  offending 
God,  and  resisting  his  commandments ;  that  mean- 
while you  should  ever  and  anon  be  checked  and 
wounded  by  the  visitation  of  convincing  truth ; 
that,  at  a  certain  moment,  you  should  be  called  of 
God,  and  illuminated  by  his  Holy  Spirit ;  that  you 
should  hear  such  a  preacher,  or  alight  on  such  a 
text,  or  receive  such  an  admonition  ;  that  you  should 


GOD^S   GUIDANCE.  73 

encounter  sucli  temptations,  liave  sucli  joys,  fall  into 
sucb  sins,  be  called  to  sucli  labours,  and  endure 
such  sorrows ;  in  a  word,  that  you  should  be  this 
very  hour  receiving,  for  good  or  evil,  the  impres- 
sions of  which  you  are  now  conscious  ?  No,  my 
reader ;  no  !  you  feel  the  hand  of  sovereignty  in 
all  this :  and  such  has  been  the  case  with  all  the 
people  of  God.  How  much  agency,  think  you,  had 
any  of  the  three  thousand  Pentecostal  hearers,  in 
adjusting  their  several  plans,  and  journeys,  and  de- 
votions, so  as  to  be  pricked  in  heart,  at  that  moment, 
by  the  preaching  of  Peter  ?  How  much  agency  had 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  lately  an  assistant  in  the  murder  of 
Stephen,  and  now  hasting  to  Damascus  to  imbrue 
his  hands  in  fresh  martyrdoms,  in  causing  himself 
to  be  smitten  to  the  earth,  a  repentant  soul  ?  How 
much  agency  had  the  jailer  of  Philippi,  in  the 
events  which  accompanied  the  midnight  earthquake, 
and  the  divine  call  which  snatched  him  from  the 
yawning  damnation  of  the  suicide  ?  From  whom; 
then,  proceeded  these  events,  if  not  "  from,  the 
Father  of  lights,  with  whom  is  no  variableness,  nei- 
ther shadow  of  turning  ?  Of  his  own  will  begat  he 
us  with  the  word  of  truth." 

The  future,  with  which  we  so  vainly  perplex  our- 
selves, is  perfect  darkness.  We  know  not  even 
where  our  next  footsteps  shall  be  planted.  Whether 
death  or  life,  whether  joys  or  temptations  await  us, 
no  wisdom  can  disclose  to  us.  "  How  can  a  mar. 
then,  understand  his  own  way  ?" 

Are  we  then  to  fold  our  arms,  and  beJiev^..^ 


74  CONSOLATION 

ourselves  to  have  no  freedom,  to  lie  still  in  the 
arms  of  an  inexorable  fate  ?  By  no  means.  Be- 
tween Fate  and  Providence,  there  is  just  the 
difference  which  subsists  between  darkness  and  light, 
between  chance  and  foresight,  between  an  unreason- 
ing destiny  and  a  disposing  goodness,  between  non- 
entity and  God.  In  the  truth  we  urge,  and  in 
all  our  exposition  of  it,  while  it  is  asserted  that 
man  does  not  know  and  cannot  direct  himself,  it  is 
implied  that  God  does.  A  man's  heart  deviseth 
his  way,  but  the  Lord  directeth  his  steps.  We  are 
in  a  labyrinth  indeed,  but  the  clew  is  in  the  hand  of 
infinite  wisdom  and  infinite  love>  When  we  least 
know  whither  we  are  going,  he  knoweth  the  way 
that  we  take.  When  we  are  unable  to  conceive 
what  good  can  result  from  our  present  distressing 
condition,  God  is  using  us  for  the  very  purpose  for 
which  he  sent  us  into  the  world.  The  expert  arti- 
san, surrounded  by  a  thousand  implements,  knows 
precisely  the  use  of  each ;  he  takes  up  one,  and  lays  it 
aside ;  he  employs  each  in  its  due  time  and  mea- 
sure, and  for  its  right  end.  Just  in  this  way  does 
the  sovereign  wisdom  deal  with  men.  And  it  is 
no  more  reasonable  for  the  human  soul,  than  for 
the  material  implement,  to  quarrel  with  the  hand 
that  wields  it.  Assyria  thought  herself  wise  and 
prudent  and  successful.  But  God  saith :  "  Shall  the 
axe  boast  itself  against  him  that  heweth  therewith, 
or  shall  the  saw  magn'fy  itself  against  him  that 
shaketh  it  ?  as  if  the  rod  should  shake  itself  against 
them  that  lift  it  up,  or  as  if  the  staff  should  lift  up 


god's  guidance.  ?6 

itself,  as  if  it  were  no  wood."  Thus  even  tlie  free 
actions  of  tlie  most  wicked  man  are  so  governed, 
tliat  his  way  is  not  in  himself,  but  in  God.  "  For 
the  Scripture  saith  unto  Pharaoh,  Even  for  this  same 
purpose  have  I  raised  thee  up,  that  I  might  show 
my  power  in  thee,  and  that  my  name  might  be 
declared  ■'■hxoiighout  all  the  earth."  And  in  re- 
gard to  th^Uit5wning  sin  of  our  world,  the  death 
of  Jesus  Christ,  when  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate, 
with  the  Gentiles,  and  the  people  of  Israel,  were 
gathered  together,  it  was  "for  to  do  whatsoever 
God's  hand  and  counsel  determined  before  to  be 
done." 

But  if  this  is  true  even  with  regard  to  the  un- 
godly, how  much  more  may  we  expect  it  to  be  true 
in  regard  to  God's  peculiar  people,  whom  he  has 
called  and  sanctified,  to  show  forth  his  glory. 
Feeling  that  their  way  is  not  in  themselves,  they  de- 
light in  believing  that  they  are  led  from  above.  It 
is  the  very  law  of  God's  dispensations,  that  when 
his  people  are  going  they  know  not  whither,  they 
are  in  the  very  path  which  the  Master  has  ap- 
pointed. "  I  will  bring  the  blind  by  a  way  that 
they  knew  not ;  I  will  lead  them  in  paths  that  they 
have  not  known ;  I  will  make  darkness  light  before 
them,  and  crooked  things  straight.  These  things 
will  I  do  unto  them,  and  not  forsake  them."  The 
knowledge  of  t^is  should  work  in  us  both  submis- 
sion and  hope  ;  submission,  because  God  is  sovereign, 
because  he  is  wise,  because  he  is  just,  because  he  is 
omnipotent,  and  because  all  resistance  and  all  repin- 


iTO  CONSOLATION. 

ing  are  fruitless  and  wicked ;  hope,  because  we  are 
assured  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God,  being  disposed  according  to  a 
most  gracious  plan  for  accomplishing  their  perfec- 
tion. What  though  he  hath  not  confided  to  us  his 
secrets  of  state  ?  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth 
rejoice  !  However  perplexing  may  bf^t}\f,.,particular 
case,  here  is  a  ruie  which  covers  all:  "  Clouds  and 
darkness  are  round  about  him ;  righteousness  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne."  Even 
m  times  as  dark  as  those  of  Habakkuk,  we  may  say 
with  the  prophet :  "  Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not 
blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the  vines;  the 
labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields  shall 
yield  no  meat ;  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold, 
and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls ;  yet  will 
I  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  sal- 
vation." The  promise  is  good  to  every  faithful  soul : 
"  The  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually,  and  satisfy 
thy  soul  in  drought,  and  make  fat  thy  bones :  and 
thou  shalt  be  like  a  watered  garden,  and  like  a 
spring  of  water,  whose  waters  fail  not." 

We  are  more  ready,  perhaps,  to  recognize  this 
guidance  of  Providence  under  the  greater  than  un- 
der the  lighter  afflictions  of  life.  Yet  the  misery  as 
well  as  the  happiness  of  man  is  mainly  the  aggre- 
gate of  little  things.  When  fortune  is  suddenly 
swept  away  ;  when  disease  breaks  the  constitution  ; 
when  death  by  a  single  stroke  makes  the  widow  and 
the  orphan,  the  sufferer  is  prompt  to  acknowledge 
tliat  it  is  the  visitation  of  God.     But  we  live  aa 


god's  guidance.  ((  u^r  r  ,W  t*^, 

if  we  would  exempt  from  tlie  generar-^ule  tlie  ^ 
petty  annoyances  of  our  common  days;  the  languor?  iJ 
which  unfits  for  duty ;  the  cloud  that  passes  over 
the  spirits ;  the  domestic  cross,  the  chafing  of 
temper  in  trade ;  the  slight,  the  unkindness,  the  for- 
getfulness  which  we  enduie  from  thoughtless  or 
selfish  fellow-creatures.  Yet  the  law  is  univer- 
sal. Not  merely  the  journey,  but  every  step  of 
the  journey,  is  ordered.  No  part  of  our  way  is 
left  to  ourselves.  Resignation  and  faith  behold 
God  in  the  smallest  hair  that  falls  ;  and  the  happiest 
life  is  that  of  him  who  has  bound  together  all  the 
affairs  of  life,  great  and  small,  and  intrusted  them 
to  God.  Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord,  trust  also 
in  him,  and  he  will  bring  it  to  pass. 

The  consideration  of  the  truth,  that  we  cannot 
direct  our  own  ways,  may  well  serve  to  chastise 
our  sanguine  expectations,  with  regard  to  the  course 
of  our  life.  It  is  the  characteristic  illusion  of  youth, 
and  it  varies  with  the  temperament  of  the  indivi- 
dual, but  no  season  of  life  is  entirely  free  from  it. 
"We  are  prone  to  look  at  the  future,  as  if  it  all  were 
within  our  power.  We  plan  for  earthly  happiness,  as 
if  our  own  purpose  were  omnipotent.  And  even  sore 
experience  does  not  teach  us  that  our  arm  reaches 
but  a  little  distance ;  and  that  we  are  subject  to  a 
governing  power,  which  employs  us  as  the  potter 
does  the  clay.  Of  the  majority  of  the  schemes  and 
enterprises  which  engage  the  solicitude  of  the 
busy  world,  it  may  be  said,  they  include  no  thought 
of  Providence.     The  worldly  mind,  and   even   the 


78  CONSOIiATIOA 

Cliristian  mind  under  wrong  influences,  continues  its 
way  as  if  self-sufficient.  "To-morrow  shall  be  as 
this  day,  and  mucli  more  abundant."  It  is  to  rebuke 
such  unfounded  hopes  that  the  Apostle  James  says, 
"  Go  to  now,  ye  that  say,  To-day  or  to-morrow  we 
will  go  into  such  a  city,  and  continue  there  a  year, 
and  buy  and  sell,  and  get  gain  :  whereas  ye  know 
not  what  shall  be  on  the  morrow.  For  what  is 
your  life  ?  It  is  even  a  vapour,  that  appeareth  for 
a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away.  For  that 
ye  ought  to  say,  If  the  Lord  will,  we  shall  live,  and 
do  this  or  that.  But  now  ye  rejoice  in  your  boast- 
ings :  all  such  rejoicing  is  evil."  Such  was  the  joy 
and  such  the  boasting  of  the  rich  man  in  the  para- 
ble, as  he  surveyed  the  extent  of  his  crops  :  "  I  will 
say  to  my  soul,  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up 
for  many  years,  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be 
merry."  But  God  said  unto  him,  "  Thou  fool !  this 
night  shall  thy  soul  be  required  of  thee."  To  hope, 
indeed,  is  our  privilege  and  our  duty,  but  our  hope 
must  be  in  God.  Men  are  fond  of  talking  about 
being  the  architects  of  their  own  fortune,  and.  our 
ears  are  wearied  with  hearing  of  "  self-made  men  ;" 
but  unless  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labour 
in  vain  that  build  it.  Hope  itself  becomes  more 
secure,  and  energy  is  more  constant,  when  they  are 
founded  on  the  belief  that  all  is  under  the  Almighty 
guidance.  Our  happiness  in  duty  is  greatest,  when 
we  feel  that  we  are  conducted  through  all  our 
changes ^by  an  overruling  power,  which  uses  4is  for 
ends  far  above  our  comprehension. 


god's  guidance,  79 

But  such  is  the  tendency  of  erring  man  to  go 
from  one  extreme  to  another,  that  while  at  one  mo- 
ment we  are  inflated  with  idle  hopes,  at  the  next 
we  are  cast  down  by  as  idle  fears.  The  doctrine 
now  under  consideration  serves  to  repress  our  need- 
less apprehension  of  coming  evil.  Ever  attempting 
to  pry  into  the  future,  we  make  to  ourselves  a  thou- 
sand troubles  which  never  exist  but  in  these  sickly 
imaginations.  The  foreknowledge  of  such  as  are 
really  to  befall  us,  would  be  enough  to  crush  us ; 
and  God  has  wisely  and  mercifully  concealed  from 
us  that  which  is  to  come.  It  is  a  fine  conception  of 
our  great  poet,  when  Michael  sets  before  Adam  the 
future  history  of  the  world,  to  represent  our  pro- 
genitor as  exclaiming  in  anguish  : 

"  0  visions  ill  foreseen !  better  had  I 
Lived  ignorant  of  future,  so  had  borne 
My  part  of  evil  only,  each  day's  lot 
Enough  to  bear. 

Let  no  man  seek 
Henceforth  to  be  foretold  what  shall  befall 
Him  or  his  children  ;  evil  he  may  be  sure, 
Which  neither  his  foreknowing  can  prevent, 
And  he  the  future  evil  shall  no  less  • 

In  apprehension  than  in  substance  feel, 
Grievous  to  bear '' 

But  not  content  with  forecasting  those  ills  which 
shall  occur,  we  imagine  a  thousand  which  never  ar- 
rive. By  such  perverse  musings  men  may  press 
into  a  few  days  all  those  evils  which  God  has  mei* 
cifully  parcelled  out  through  a  lifetime.  And  as 
there  are  innumerable  trials  which  cause  more  dis- 


80  CONSOLATIOK. 

tress  in  tlie  fear  than  in  the  endurance,  we  lade  our 
selves,  not  only  with  those  which  shall  be,  but  with 
a  hundred-fold  more  which  are  the  mere  creatures 
of  our  apprehension.  Such  a  temper  is  to  be  cor- 
rected, by  considering  that  the  way  of  man  is  not 
in  himself  All  such  cares  are  needless.  They  do 
not  avail  in  the  slightest  degree  to  avert  or  lessen 
the  ills  which  come,  or  to  strengthen  us  for  the 
burden.  They  fill  up  time,  and  absorb  thoughts  and 
energies  which  should  be  bestowed  upon  the  duties 
of  the  day.  In  this  connection,  how  pure,  heavenly,, 
and  reviving  are  the  directions  of  our  blessed  Sa- 
viour ;  how  infinitely  above  the  reach  of  worldly 
philosophy ;  how  consistent  with  the  highest  wis- 
dom !  Sending  us  for  our  lesson  to  the  fowls  of  the 
air  and  the  lilies  of  the  field,  he  says :  ''  Take  there- 
fore no  thought  for  the  morrow :  for  the  morrow 
shall  take  thought  for  the  things  of  itself.  Sufficient 
unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof"  We  shall  be 
wiser,  holier,  and  happier,  if  we  resign  ourselves  and 
all  our  affairs  to  the  disposition  of  divine  Provi- 
dence ;  assured  that  he  who  loves  us  better  than 
we  love  ourselves,  will  lay  nothing  upon  us  which 
is  not  for  our  good.  Let  not  a  thought  of  chance 
intrude,  even  in  respect  to  the  smallest  concerns. 
"  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing  ?  and 
one  of  them  shall  not  fall  on  the  ground  without 
your  Father.  But  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are 
all  numbered." 

If  then   we   may  use  this  doctrine   to  correct 
at  once  our  unreasonable  hopes  and  our  unreasou 


god's  guidance.  81 

able  feai^s,  we  may  also  derive  from  it  the  habit  of 
conducting  our  whole  life  with  a  reference  to  the 
leadings  of  Providence.  Since  it  is  not  in  man  to 
direct  his  steps,  let  him  seek  the  direction  of  God. 
And  this  direction  is  twofold ;  that  of  providential 
indications,  and  that  of  revealed  duty.  We  are  not 
left  without  signs  in  the  course  of  events  concerning 
us,  which  serve  to  show  where  our  path  lies.  The 
traveller  may  not  be  able  to  see  very  far  before 
him ;  but  when  he  has  made  one  cautious  step,  he 
is  generally  permitted  to  see  where  the  next  should 
be  placed.  Even  in  the  night  of  storm,  this  direc- 
tion is  sometimes  afforded  by  the  very  lightning 
which  alarms  him.  We  must  not  mistake  our 
own  wishes  and  fears,  our  likes  and  dislikes,  our 
worldly  ease  and  interest  for  the  leadings  of  Provi- 
dence ;  but  we  may  with  justice  examine  every  pro- 
posed step,  with  reference  to  our  character,  talents, 
age,  station,  and  circumstances. 

But  still  more  important  is  it  to  regard  the  path 
of  duty  as  the  path  of  Providence.  The  revelation 
of  God's  will  in  the  Scriptures  is  our  pillar  of  cloud 
and  of  fire.  When  we  go  where  this  directs,  we 
cannot  but  go  aright.  "  This  is  the  way,  walk  ye 
in  it."  "  The  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making 
wise  the  simple."  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my 
feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path." 

If  instead  of  so  often  asking  what  is  agreeable,  or 
tending  to  worldly  happiness,  we  were  constantly  to 
ask  what  is  duty,  we  should  attain  greater  holiness, 
greater  usefulness,  and  greater  peace  of  mind.     Our 


82  CONSOLATION. 

greatest  glory  is  conformity  to  the  will  of  God.  As 
our  ways  are  not  our  own,  we  must  eventually 
bow  to  tliat  will,  whether  willingly  or  unwillingly 
However,  therefore,  a  temporary  departure  from 
duty  may  seem  to  promise  good,  we  may  rest  upon 
it,  as  the  immutable  truth  of  God,  that  "  wisdom's 
ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness." 

Let  me  now  inquire,  is  it  not  in  the  highest 
degree  encouraging  to  be  thus  assured,  that  dark  as 
the  future  is,  in  regard  to  our  apprehensions,  it  is 
not  in  the  minutest  particular  uncertain  in  the  mind 
of  God  ?  His  eye  discerns  our  whole  path,  even  to 
the  end ;  nay,  his  hand  has  marked  it  out.  After 
our  greatest  efforts,  and  in  spite  of  our  greatest  re- 
sistance, we  do  but  float  upon  the  mighty  stream  of 
his  Providence.  All  that  is  past,  and  all  that  is  to 
come,  including  every  action,  suffering,  sentiment, 
and  thought,  all  is  carried  forward  by  him  to  a  con- 
summation as  beatific  for  us  as  it  is  glorious  for  our 
Maker. 

Let  me  say,  in  recapitulation ;  we  have  found  it 
involved  in  our  doctrine,  that  our  present  life  is  a  state 
of  discipline,  in  which  we  know  not  the  end  for 
which  God  is  fitting  us,  nor  our  own  need  of  such  and 
such  particular  trials;  that  being  ignorant  of  the 
end,  we  must  needs  be  ignorant  of  the  way ;  that  we 
know  not  what  to  choose  or  what  to  refuse,  if 
events  were  left  to  our  option ;  that  even  in  cases 
where  we  have  such  knowledge,  we  have  little 
power  to  accomplish  what  we  may  choose ;  that  the 


events  on  whicli  our  whole  life,  especially  our  spir 
itual  life,  turns,  aie  beyond  our  control ;  and  ttat 
tlie  future,  with  all  its  contingencies,  is  entirely  hid- 
den from  us.  But  we  have  seen,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  if  man  cannot  direct  his  own  ways,  they  are 
directed  by  God;  from  which  we  have  derived 
these  practical  lessons:  to  be  submissive  under 
trials,  to  moderate  our  hopes,  to  repress  our  fears, 
and  to  follow  the  leadings  of  Providence. 

It  seems  a  proper  conclusion  to  this  essay  to 
add,  that  in  a  future  state,  we  have  reason  to  be- 
Heve,  the  children  of  God  will  be  admitted  to  see 
the  wisdom  and  the  mercy  of  all  the  way  by  which 
God  has  led  them.  What  our  Saviour  said  to 
Peter  may,  perhaps,  in  a  certain  sense,  be  said  to 
every  believer:  "What  I  do  thou  knowest  not 
now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  It  is  not  too 
much  to  think,  that  when  God  shall  have  made  up 
all  his  jewels,  and  the  number  of  the  elect  shall  be 
complete,  he  will  make  it  a  part  of  their  happiness 
to  look  back  from  the  height  of  heaven  upon  all 
their  winding  track,  and  to  see  that  every  step  has 
been  ordered  in  infinite  love ;  that  their  sorest  trials 
have  been  merciful;  that  their  freest  choices  have 
been  links  in  God's  chain  of  purpose;  that  their 
very  sins  have  been  overruled  for  good.  And  if 
this  shall  appear  amazing  in  the  history  of  an  in- 
dividual, how  shall  it  shine  resplendent  in  the  na- 
tions of  them  that  are  saved,  when  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand  interminghng  and  entangled 
lives  shall  visibly  accord  with  one  infinite  plan,  and 


84  CONSOLATION. 

centre  in  one  sovereign  purpose !  The  great  end  of 
Creation  and  Providence  and  Grace  is  God's  own 
glory.  This  will  be  made  manifest  at  the  grand  con- 
summation. But  in  nothing  will  this  more  shine 
than  when  it  shall  appear  that  the  voluntary,  and 
even  the  wicked  acts  of  innumerable  creatures,  all 
concur  in  the  accomplishment  of  God's  purposes; 
and  that  in  proportion  as  man's  way  has  not  been 
in  himself,  in  the  same  proportion  has  the  magnifi- 
cent plan  been  carried  to  completion. 

There  is  a  wonderful  display  of  wisdom  and 
power  in  material  nature;  and  if  we  regard  each 
star,  even  in  the  milky  way,  as  the  centre  of  a 
system,  we  are  overwhelmed  with  the  consideration 
of  so  many  orbs,  all  moving  agreeably  to  a  uniform 
law,  and  circling  their  respective  courses  for  ages 
without  confusion.  Yet  still  more  astonishing,  and 
still  more  glorious  will  it  be,  when  at  the  last  it 
shall  appear,  that  of  the  millions  of  redeemed  souls, 
each  has  been  the  free  originator  of  thoughts  and 
volitions ;  that  these  have  flowed  from  each  in  a 
perpetual  stream ;  that  they  have  conflicted  with 
one  another,  and  conflicted  with  the  preceptive  will 
of  God ;  that,  nevertheless,  all  have  contributed  to 
the  happiness  of  the  saved  world,  and  the  glory  of 
the  Almighty.  Then  shall  be  heard  the  song  of 
Moses,  the  servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of  the 
Lamb  : "  Great  and  marvellous  are  thy  works,  Lord 
God  Almighty;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou 
King  of  saints." 


THE  OMNIPOTENCE  OF  GOD  A  GEOUND 

OF  ENLAKGED  CHRISTIAN 

EXPECTATION 


IV. 


IP  any  are  dissatisfied  witli  tlie  Christian  religion, 
it  is  because  of  their  own  ignorai^ce  or  perverse- 
ness.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  higher 
good,  than  that  which  the  Gospel  offers  to  every 
human  being  who  hears  it.  Nothing  has  so  revealed 
the  capacities  of  the  soul,  as  Christianity ;  all  the 
speculations  of  antiquity  are  trifling  in  comparison  • 
and  these  capacities  seem  to  be  revealed  for  the  very 
purpose  of  exalting  our  delightful  expectations,  as 
to  their  being  filled.  When  Christianity  would  lay 
a  foundation  for  our  hopes,  it  does  not  build  on  any 
doubtful  analogies,  but  digs  deep,  and  shows  us  the 
solid  rock  of  God's  infinite  perfections  ;  saying,  as  it 
were,  K  you  would  know  what  you  shall  receive, 
think  what  God  is — ^how  great  and  how  good.  "  All 
is  yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's." 
And  we  have  endeavoured  to  set  this  forth,  from  the 
beginning,  as  the  true  ground  of  all  rational  comfort 
in  religion.  For  if  our  distresses  and  trials  do  not 
drive  us  to  seek  support  in  the  attributes  of  God, 
they  do  not  afford  us  any  benefit.  The  ground  of 
all  our  hopes  is  God's  love,  manifested  to  the  world 
in  the  gift  of  his  only  begotten  Son.      From  this 


88  CONSOLATION. 

source  we  cannot  expect  too  mucli.  Hence  you  will 
aniformly  observe,  that  those  who  dwell  most  on 
the  person  and  work  of  Christ,  have  the  brightest 
prospects  of  future  blessedness.  And  the  apostle 
Paul  uses  a  fervent  prayer,  that  those  to  whom  he 
wrote,  might  attain  to  the  knowledge  of  this  love  of 
Christ,  by  means  of  which  they  would  learn  the 
riches  of  their  destined  inheritance. 

The  apostle  Paul  breaks  forth  in  a  mingled  dox- 
ology  and  prayer,  when  writing  to  the  Ephesians : 
"Now  unto  Him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding 
abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think."  God 
is  thus  able ;  and  thus  his  omnipotence  is  a  ground 
of  consolation. 

I.  God's  omnipotence  and  grace,  authorize  us  to 
expect  from  him  blessings  beyond  our  comprehen- 
sion. The  little  child  takes  a  pleasure  in  learning 
its  father's  riches,  because  it  knows  that  this  is  all 
for  its  own  advantage,  and  it  never  dreams  of  the 
parent's  being  restrained  from  giving  by  any  thing 
but  want  of  means.  In  like  manner  the  Christian 
who  has  any  right  views  of  God  as  a  Father,  and  of 
his  relation  to  God,  only  needs  to  be  informed  that 
God  is  Almighty  to  be  assured  that  he  will  bestow 
all  good.  Hence  meditation  on  the  omnipotence 
of  God  is  greatly  edifying,  not  only  as  it  raises  us  to 
high  thoughts  of  the  adorable  divine  character, 
but  as  it  assures  us  of  the  infinite  sufficiency  there 
is  in  him.  To  say  that  God  is  able,  is  to  say  that 
he  is  willing.  This  method  of  proceeding  from 
his  disposition  to  his  nature,  from  his  goodness  to  his 


god's   OMmPOTENCE.  89 

greatness,  of  presuming  on  his  love  and  then  com- 
forting ourselves  with  his  power,  is  more  pleas 
ing  than  the  reverse.  For  it  is  dreadful  to  have 
a  full  view  of  God's  power,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  be  in  doubt  whether  it  is  not  all  arrayed  against 
us.  The  impression  of  this  is  what  gives  triple 
horrors  to  hours  of  conviction,  when  some  poor  dis- 
mayed soul  is  brought  into  the  presence  of  infinite 
sovereignty,  might,  and  wrath,  but  as  yet  has  no 
ray  of  hope.  Very  different  is  the  view  which 
prompted  the  words  of  Paul :  "  Unto  him  that  is 
ohle  to  do," — as  if  he  had  said,  Once  convince  me 
that  God  is  ohle  to  make  me  happy,  and  I  am  con* 
tent :  of  his  disposition  to  bless,  I  can  have  no  doubt. 
The  apostle  does  not  say  God  is  ivilling :  this  was 
unnecessary. 

You  will  possibly  have  a  reply  ready,  to  wit,  that 
nobody  doubts  God's  power :  all  who  believe  in  a 
God,  believe  he  is  almighty.  But  it  is  important  to 
observe,  that  there  are  many  great  truths  which  we 
do  not  deny,  and  which,  nevertheless,  we  do  not 
believe ;  and  again,  that  there  are  degrees  of  faith, 
from  the  faintest  assent,  of  which  we  are  scarcely 
conscious,  up  to  the  full  assurance  of  certainty.  If 
nothing  were  necessary  but  to  know  and  admit  the 
general  propositions  of  religious  truth,  much  of  our 
preaching,  hearing,  reading,  and  meditation  would 
be  superfluous;  but  we  must  keep  the  mind's  eye 
fixed  on  these  truths  until  our  knowledge  becomes 
more  intimate,  extensive,  and  spiritual,  and  our  faith 
grows  jprith  contemplation.     Thus,  while  we  sit  and 


90  CONSOLATION. 

look  eastward,  like  those  that  watcli  for  the  iaorii« 
ing,  we  behold,  first  the  dawn,  then  the  sunrise,  then 
the  bright  morning,  and  then  the  blazing  noon. 
This  is  especially  true  of  God's  attributes.  We 
know  them.  The  t^rms  which  express  them  are 
simple  enough.  Our  first  catechisms  give  us  almost 
all  we  need  to  have  expressed  in  the  way  of  defini- 
tion. Nevertheless,  Avhat  a  world  of  knowledge  is  yet 
to  be  compassed  on  any  one  of  those  points !  And 
how  does  he  who  meditates  on  a  divine  perfection 
seem  to  go  forth  on  a  voyage  from  which  there  is  no 
return !  In  this  way  the  power  of  God,  however  fami- 
liar and  admitted,  requires  to  be  mused  upon  and  tra- 
versed in  our  thoughts ;  as  the  astronomer  by  nightly 
observations,  repeated  for  years,  tries  to  penetrate  the 
wonders  of  the  heavens ;  though  the  object  which 
tasks  his  powers  and  arouses  his  curiosity  is  some 
nebula  familiar  to  his  eye  from  early  youth.  It  is 
wise  to  ponder  upon  known  truth,  and  he  who  never 
practises  it  will  make  slender  attainments  in  new 
discovery.  It  was  well  for  Paul  to  turn  the  gaze  of 
the  Ephesians  upon  the  wonders  of  God's  power — 
God  "  is  able  to  do ;"  and  to  connect  it  with  that 
love  of  Christ  and  fulness  of  God,  of  which  he 
had  just  been  speaking  (Ephes.  3  :  20).  There  is  a 
little  cleft  of  heaven  opened  to  us  by  these  words, 
and  some  light  breaks  in. 

Hope  is  a  pleasant  thing,  even  when  it  concerns 
itself  about  temporals ;  but  when  it  overleaps  the 
fences  of  time  and  space,  and  begins  to  expatiate  in 
eternity;  when  it  forecasts  the  condition  of ^  soul 


god's  omnipotence. 


let  loose  from  tlie  body ;  wlien  it  presses  toward^ 


«^ 


the  lapse  of  ages,  all  blissful  and  ever  growing  in-  ,77 
tlie  capacity  for  boly  delights;  when  it  pictures  ^^ — 
heaven,  and  successive  births  of  soul  into  new  lives 
of  joy  and  love,  cycle  after  cycle,  then  it  becomes 
the  angelic  harbinger  of  God's  presence.  The  true 
foundation  for  such  hope  is  in  God.  There  can  be 
none  other.  To  this  the  apostle  directs  the  view : 
"  To  him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly." 
It  is  because  God  the  Lord  is  God,  and  our  God  and 
Eedeemer,  that  we  have  such  largeness  of  expecta- 
tation.  The  measure  of  our  hopes  is  the  degree  of 
God's  ability.  This  is  startling,  but  undeniable,  and 
full  of  matter  for  thought.  "  If  I  (a  believer)  am 
not  happy,  it  will  be  because  God  is  not  able  to 
make  me  so."  Here,  indeed,  is  consolation.  Noth- 
ing so  enlarges  the  horizon  of  our  expectations,  as  to 
place  our  hopes  on  divine  perfections.  He  "  that  is 
able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we 
ask  or  think,"  places  us  on  an  eminence  of  observa- 
tion, from  which  we  may  look  out  on  the  wide  sea 
of  future  good,  and  find  no  shore  or  limitation. 
This,  if  any  thing,  will  lift  a  man  above  the  world, 
and  inspire  a  heroism  into  his  Christianity. 

The  people  of  the  world  go  through  their  pil- 
grimage in  a  poor  ignoble  manner,  analogous  to  the 
beasts  which  do  not  lift  their  heads  above  the  pas- 
ture in  which  they  browse.  Men  whose  portion  is 
in  this  life  very  commonly  put  off  thinking  about 
any  portion  in  the  life  to  come,  till  they  feel  their 
bold  on  present  things  loosening.     During  middlo 


92  CONSOLATION. 

life  and  activity,  it  is  really  wonderful  how  our  suc- 
cessful and  busy  citizens  contrive  to  keep  out 
thoughts  of  God  and  religion.  Every  few  days 
there  is  a  funeral  of  some  old  friend ;  these  come 
faster  and  faster,  as  we  go  down  the  hill ;  neigh- 
bours attend  these  with  proper  solemnity,  and  look 
into  the  open  vault,  as  if  their  thoughts  were  full  of 
eternity.  No  such  thing !  they  have  acquired  the 
art  of  locking  God  out  of  his  creation ;  their  minds 
are  busy  about  the  obsequies,  or  the  estate  of  the 
deceased,  or  whether  his  will  shall  be  contested,  or 
their  own  loss  of  time,  or  the  next  piece  of  sordid 
business.  They  do  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their 
knowledge ;  they  ki^ow  they  have  nothing  to  expect 
from  him.  A  high  impenetrable  wall  blocks  up  the 
further  side  of  their  worldly  prospects.  What  is 
beyond  is  to  them  as  if  it  were  not.  What  though 
God  has  plainly  set  on  record  certain  things  about 
that  coming  state;  what  though  hundreds  whom 
they  knew  have  lifted  that  curtain  and  left  the 
stage ;  what  though  they  are  certain,  that  after  a  few 
days,  they  must  make  the  plunge  into  the  awful  un- 
seen world ;  all  these  things  fail  to  arouse  them.  'No 
sweet  hope  gilds  the  western  horizon  towards  which 
their  sun  is  sinking.  No  refreshing  prelibations  of 
those  heavenly  pleasures  cheer  them  in  their  present 
j ourney .  They  have  resolved  to  make  the  most  of  this 
life ;  to  live  as  if  this  were  all ;  to  keep  God  out  of 
their  thoughts ;  if  not  (as  the  great  infidel  said  of 
death)  "  to  make  a  leap  in  the  dark."  I  have  gone 
aside  to  this  allusion,  because  it  throws  the  strong 


god's  omnipotence.  93 

lights  of  contrast  on  the  prevalent  expectations  of 
God's  children.  There  is  a  low,  cowardly  disposi- 
tion in  certain  Christians  to  seek  the  world's  patron- 
age, and  almost  ask  the  world's  pardon,  for  their  re- 
ligion. Are  they  invited  to  some  questionable 
amusement  ?  they  stammer  out  their  apology  of  be- 
ing Christ's,  as  a  mean-spirited  spendthrift  would 
own  the  slenderness  of  his  purse.  Are  they  cen- 
sured for  not  loving  this  world  enough  ?  they  plead 
religious  custom  or  church-rule,  or  the  opinion  of 
fiiends,  instead  of  glorying  in  their  birthright  in 
the  world  to  come.  That  which  they  should  bind 
to  them  as  a  garland  and  a  diadem,  and  should  hold 
forth  as  an  irresistible  inducement  for  sinners  to 
come  over  to  their  side,  they  sometimes  hide  in  a 
corner,  and  blush  to  have  suspected. 

True,  healthy,  living  religion  takes  a  different 
view  of  these  matters :  would  God  we  had  more  of 
it !  The  believer  walks  by  faith :  have  you  con- 
sidered what  this  means  ?  It  is  faith  which  realizes 
the  unseen,  and  presents  the  future.  The  believer 
walks  about  this  world  as  a  foreigner  walks  among 
the  sounding  colonnades  of  some  marble  palace ;  it  is 
fair ;  it  awakens  his  momentary  curiosity,  but  what 
is  it  to  him !  To-morrow  he  is  going  away  towards 
his  beloved  home.  The  Christian  goes  through  this 
life  under  the  overhanging  influence  of  a  spiritual 
state,  and  the  incomparable  attraction  of  a  glory  yet 
to  be  revealed.  The  very  indistinctness  of  his  vision, 
in  respect  to  that  fair  country,  increases  his  desires. 
"  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be."     But 


94  CONSOLATION. 

thougli  the  details  of  the  future  inlieritance  are  not 
communicated  to  us,  the  principle  and  source  of  it 
is.  A  child  who  knows  that  he  is  an  heir,  and  that 
his  father  has  boundless  stores,  knows  enough  for 
his  happiness,  though  ignorant  of  the  precise  locality 
of  his  estates.  God  is  able  to  do — on  that  he 
rests.  In  this  is  abiding  consolation.  Here  the  soul 
can  be  firm.  Were  this  constantly  in  our  thoughts, 
we  should  be  buoyed  up  amidst  the  waves  of 
trouble. 

We  sometimes  (if  sincere  seekers)  busy  ourselves 
in  thinking  of  what  may  be  in  reserve  for  us,  in  that 
long,  long  existence  which  awaits  us,  and  muse  on 
the  changes,  the  unfoldings,  the  ascendings,  the  en- 
largements, of  which  we  shall  be  subjects,  as  those 
ages  roll  on.  We  sometimes  try  to  imagine  what 
these  souls  may  become,  and  to  speculate  upon  what 
infinite  goodness,  expressed  in  the  gift  of  the  Son 
and  his  death  on  the  cross,  may  have  in  reserve  for 
us.  But  all  these  thoughts  of  ours  fall  far  below  the 
measure  of  what  God  is  able  to  do.  Sometimes, 
again,  in  more  devotional  moments,  our  meditations 
take  the  form  of  request,  and  we  undertake  to  ask 
of  God  to  do  this  and  that  for  us,  in  this  life  and 
in  the  life  to  come.  But  what  poor,  broken  igno- 
rant petitions,  for  the  most  part ;  if  we  could  only 
compare  them  with  the  glory  that  is  to  be  revealed  in 
us.  As  if  an  infant  should  be  craving  a  feather  or 
a  flower,  when  the  parent  is  preparing  for  it  a  king- 
dom. "We  k:now  not  how  to  pray,  nor  what  to 
pray  for  as  we  ought."     Thoughts  and  prayei^  are 


GOD'S    OMNIPOTENCE  9^6 

both  together  swallowed  up  and  drowned  in  the 
depths  of  God's  power  and  goodness ;  for  "  he  is 
able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we 
ask  or  think."  The  word  used  in  that  passage  is 
peculiar,  "  out  of  measure — surpassingly,  or  tran- 
scendently,"  breaking  over  all  bounds  of  our  com- 
prehension. You  will  feel  its  force  more  when  you 
take  along  with  you  the  whole  of  the  preceding 
glowing  context,  wherein  the  language  labours  and 
is  forced  into  seeming  solecisms,  in  order  to  indicate 
the  great  ideas.  We  have  to  comprehend  the  in- 
comprehensible, and  to  measure  the  immense,  and 
to  sound  the  unfathomable;  "to  know  the  love  of 
Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge ;"  to  comprehend 
with  all  saints  the  dimensions  of  that  which  stretches 
beyond  all  human  lines — the  "  love  of  Christ."  As 
in  the  place  in  Ephesians,  the  measure  of  what 
God  will  give  is  his  power ;  so  in  the  preceding  verse, 
the  measure  is  the  love  of  Christ;  and  both  are 
summed  up  in  that  amazing  expression  (v.  19) :  "all 
thefuhiessof  God!" 

It  is  with  no  niggardly  hand  that  our  Redeem- 
ing Lord  scatters  these  flowers  of  Hope  along  our 
path.  We  are  not  straitened  in  him.  We  cannot 
hope  too  much,  provided  we  hope  for  right  things. 
And  while  the  promise  of  the  New  Testament  is 
reserved  ui  the  extreme,  as  to  the  gift  of  earthly 
things,  except  so  far  as  they  minister  to  godliness, 
the  gates  of  heaven  are  high  and  wide,  and  opening 
into  boundless  vistas  of  eternal  heavenly  things.  "  Eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entei*ed 


96  CONSOLATION. 

into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him :  but  God  hath  re^ 
vealed  them  unto  us  by  his  Spirit;  for  the  Spirit 
searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep  tilings  of  God^  1 
Cor.  2  :  9.  These  "  deeps  of  God"  are  the  profound 
of  his  nature  and  perfections,  on  which  our  hopes 
are  dependent.  The  iDliole  of  the  future  is  con- 
cerned in  these  anticipations.  For  while  we  need 
not  wait  till  after  death  for  them  to  begin,  but  may 
from  the  present  moment  have  some  earnest,  so 
neither  need  we  look  on  them  as  ending  with  this 
life,  but  as  breaking  into  new,  vast,  and  inconceiv- 
able expansions  in  the  life  which  is  to  come.  For 
God  "  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all 
that  we  ask  or  think." 

II.  Of  the  greatness  of  these  hopes,  perhaps, 
enough  has  been  said.  It  is  proper  that  we  should 
consider  their  quality.  The  object  of  the  expecta- 
tion is  vast,  but  of  what  nature  ?  Are  they  Epicu- 
rean, Elysian,  Mohammedan,  sensual,  carnal,  philo- 
sophic, infidel  enjoyments,  which  we  look  for  ?  By 
no  means !  Such  images  and  desires  would  argue  a 
mind  utterly  void  of  true  spiritual  illumination  and 
taste.  ISTo  Christian  can  begin  too  soon  to  ascertain 
his  standard  of  good ;  and  it  must  be  moral,  spir- 
itual, eternal,  and  divine.  He  looks  for  that  which 
resides  in  the  soul,  that  which  flows  from  God,  that 
which  is  wrought  by  the  Spirit.  Let  it  be  deeply 
graven  on  our  minds,  that  all  God's  dealings  with 
us,  from  regeneration  onwards,  through  all  eternity, 
is  a  discipline,#a  moulding,  a  training,  an  education. 


god's  omnipotence.  97 

Tills  is  sought  by  all  convictions,  all  applications  .of 
trutLi,  all  mercies,  all  chastisements,  all  that  sancti- 
fies us,  by  our  very  death,  and  yet  more  fully  and 
gloriously  by  the  unexplained  communications  of 
heaven.  His  purpose  is  to  render  us  holy,  to  raise 
us  to  the  perfection  of  our  being,  and  to  make  us 
partakers  of  a  divine  nature.  The  work  has  com- 
menced, and  will  never  cease.  "  He  that  hath  be- 
gun a  good  w^ork  in  you,  will  perform  it  until  the 
day  of  redemption."  He  is  able  to  perform  it,  be- 
yond all  our  thoughts  and  prayers,  yea,  exceedingly 
beyond  them  all ;  and  to  search  how,  or  to  what 
extent,  would  be  to  search  "the  deep  things  of 
God.''  We  are  lost  in  a  labyrinth  of  thoughts,  yet 
not  without  a  clew.  This  we  do  know,  that  the 
great  thing  is  the  spiritual  ^  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  upon  the  mind  and  heart,  begun  here,  and 
completed,  or  rather  carried  ever  onward  hereafter. 
All  things  are  subsidiary  to  this.  Whatever  relates 
to  our  bodies,  our  friends,  our  circumstances,  our 
temporal  weal  or  woe,  our  gladness  or  our  tears, 
whatever  is  passing  and  external,  is  subordinate  to 
this  great  end ;  and  we  miss  the  true  point  of  our 
expectations  from  God  when  we  anxiously  look  to 
him  for  any  thing  short  of  being  made  "  partakers 
of  his  holiness." 

The  more  sound  our  experience,  the  more  pure 
our  piety,  the  more  shall  we  understand  that  "  this 
is  the  will  of  God,  even  our  sanctification."  This  is 
the  heaven  we  desire.  We  shall  love  it,  aiid  exult 
in  it,  in  proportion  as  we  love  God,  and  exult  in 
7 


98  CONSOLATION. 

God.  Herein  "  the  children  of  God  are  manifest 
and  the  children  of  the  devil."  The  children  of 
God  have  a  supreme  taste  for  likeness  to  God: 
this  is  their  chosen  blessedness.  The  children  of  the 
devil  have  no  such  taste.  They  desire  the  inciden- 
tal benefits  of  religion;  such  as  escape  from  hell, 
and  from  the  dread  of  it ;  also  supports  and  conso- 
lations under  sorrows  of  life ;  but  they  must  own 
that  renovation  of  nature,  and  the  restored  image  of 
God,  awaken  none  of  their  sensibilities.  The  soul 
that  is  born  again  is  filled  with  expectations,  which, 
however  undefined,  are  at  once  spiritual  and  glori- 
ous. "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and 
it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  ;  but  we 
know  that  when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like 
him ;  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  The  nature  of 
the  object,  then,  which  fixes  our  hopes  is  confornied 
to  the  nature  of  the  God  who  inspires  it. 

HI.  This  glory  is  already  begun  in  true  Chris- 
tixms^  and  these  beginnings  are  the  pledge,  earnest, 
and  foretaste  of  what  God  will  bestow  hereafter. 
That  exceeding  abundant  blessing  which  he  is  able 
to  confer  is  set  forth  to  us  by  what  he  is  now  con- 
ferring. For  that  which  he  will  do  is  "  according  to 
the  power  that  worketh  in  us."  We  do  not  sufii- 
ciently  consider  this.  We  are  already  under  a  divine 
influence,  tlje  same  mighty  power  which  regenerates 
and  which  will  save.  We  are  already  born  into 
this  new  life,  and  are  under  the  daily  operations  of 
a  grace  which  performs  miracles  of  love,  and  works 
transformations   altogether  beyond  the  powe;r  of 


god's  omnipotence.  99 

nature.  We  are  prone  to  undervalue  changes  which 
do  not  fall  under  the  observation  of  sense.  But 
creation  itself  is  not  more  marvellous  than  new- 
creation.  That  this  is  really  an  object  of  power, 
and  not  left  merely  to  human  volition,  is  proved  by 
our  Lord's  words  to  the  disciples,  when  they  asked, 
"  Who  then  can  be  saved  ?"  Jesus  answered,  "  That 
which  is  impossible  with  men  is  possible  with  God." 
In  every  true  believer  there  is  a  work  of  GodV 
power  perpetually  going  on,  compared  with  which 
conquests  and  revolutions  are  small  and  unimpor- 
tant. The  consciousness  of  this  work  within  him, 
and  the  perception  of  its  results,  give  him  some  in- 
timation of  what  God  will  hereafter  do.  In  the 
primitive  age,  the  contrast  was  striking  between 
the  unconverted  and  the  converted  state ;  hence  the 
marks  of  this  divine  power  were  more  apparent,  and 
disciples  felt  that  they  were  subjected  to  a  power 
which  was  manifestly  divine.  Their  hopes  and  tri- 
umphs seem  to  have  been  in  proportion.  Such  will 
generally  be  the  case :  the  more  we  feel  the  renew- 
ing energy  at  work  witfiin  us,  the  brighter  will  be 
our  hope  of  what  that  energy  will  accomplish  here- 
after. Hence  the  happiness  derived  from  a  marked 
and  advancing  Christianity,  such  as  leaves  us  in  no 
doubt  whether  Christ  be  in  us  or  not.  There  is  no- 
thing that  can  so  cheer  us  as  this  inward  witness ; 
and  there  will  be  no  limit  to  our  hopes  of  the 
favour  which  God  will  bestow,  "according  to  the 
power  that  worketh  in  us."  These  are  no  blind 
presumptuous  expectations,  which  we  are  permit- 


100  CONSOLATION. 

ted  to  cherisli  with  regard  to  the  things  which 
God  intends  for  us  hereafter.  God  hath  revealed 
them  unto  us  by  his  Spirit."  He  has  given  us  some 
beginnings  of  them  in  the  work  of  grace  within. 
He  has  told  us  that  he  is  able,  and  so  told  us  as  to 
make  us  sure  that  we  shall  never  want  until  his  ful- 
ness is  exhausted.  "  Open  thy  mouth  wide,"  saith 
he,  ''  and  I  will  fill  it."  Look  forward  and  contem- 
plate the  continuity  of  the  work  of  grace.  It  is  not 
a  shower  at  noontide,  which  refreshes  and  is  gone, 
but  a  well  of  water  that  springeth  up  to  everlasting 
life.  Would  you  derive  some  useful  lessons  from 
what  has  been  said  ?  Among  many,  accept  the  fol- 
lowing : 

1.  Here  is  great  inducement  for  impenitent  per- 
sons to  repent.  Do  you  desire  to  have  God  on  your 
side  ?  then  repent.  AU  his  power  and  all  his  good- 
ness will  be  yours,  and  will  be  pledged  to  do  you  good. 
God  is  ahle^  that  is,  God  is  omnipotent,  signifies  a  dif- 
ferent thing  to  the  believer  and  to  you.  What  can 
you  read  in  it,  but  that  he  is  able  to  destroy  ?  and  to 
destroy  with  an  intensity  of  destruction  beyond  all 
your  possibility  of  comprehension.  God  is  armed 
against  you,  and  each  of  his  perfections  is  a  tower 
from  which  irresistible  assaults  are  made  on  your 
happiness.  The  infinite  and  eternal  opposition  be- 
tween God's  holiness  and  your  sin  must  make  you 
miserable  and  keep  you  so.  Tliere  is  no  way  to 
escape  this,  but  by  coming  over  to  God's  side, 
through  the  mediation  of  his  Son.  But  let  this 
once   take   place  —  and  how   extraordinary  is   th© 


GOD^S   OMNIPOTENCE.  101 

result !  Wliat  ensues  ?  not  simple  amnesty,  safety, 
or  even  forgiveness :  these  were  great,  unspeakable 
gifts  ;  but  more  than  tliese,  God  descends,  and  picks 
up  tlie  poor  sunken  creature  from  his  footstool,  and 
presses  him  to  his  bosom.  Is  this  enough  ?  No. 
He  wipes  his  tears,  clothes  him  in  white  apparel, 
enriches  him  with  glory,  and  sets  him  upon  a 
throne.  The  redeemed  sinner  finds  that  all  the  ex- 
pensive and  amazing  plan  of  redemption,  which  has 
been  opening  out  for  ages,  has  had  for  its  object  the 
holiness  and  blessedness  of  himself,  and  such  as  he ; 
and  that  the  height  which  he  has  reached  in  the  joy 
of  his  Lord,  at  the  day  of  judgment,  is  only  the 
starting-point,  in  a  career  of  endless  improvement 
in  all  that  is  pure,  lovely,  and  spiritual.  I  have, 
throughout  these  remarks,  taken  pains  to  represent 
the  expected  blessing  as  consisting  in  holiness,  like- 
ness to  God,  and  communion  with  him.  Now  make 
sure  that  this  is  really  your  aim,  and  you  cannot  by 
possibility  desire  too  much,  or  desire  too  ardently. 
Nor  can  you  form  any  vision  of  what  God  is  ready 
to  communicate  in  these  respects,  which  will  not  be 
ten  thousand  times  surpassed  by  the  reality. 

2.  Here  is  an  aid  in  living  above  the  world. 
The  argument  is  easy :  Is  God  preparing  for  me 
such  an  exaltation  of  holiness  ?  which  is  already  be- 
gun: then  away  with  all  knitting  of  the  heart  to 
what  is  terrestrial  and  temporary !  Ungodly  people 
think  that  Christianity  draws  off  from  their  pleasures 
and  idols,  from  a  certain  sourness  and  misanthropy, 
or  from  want  of  capacity  for  such  delights.     On 


102  CONSOLATION. 

the  contrary,  the  soiu  of  the  believer  flies  far  away 
above  and  beyond  these  surrounding  trifles,  and 
fixes  itself  on  the  spiritual  glories  ^f  the  kingdom. 
It  is  believing  "  things  hoped  for,"  "  things  unseen," 
that  cast  a  shade  on  the  toys  of  the  present.  "  This 
is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world  —  even 
our  faith."  Think  you  that  is  a  poor,  naked,  bar- 
ren country,  on  which  faith's  telescope  fixes  itself? 
Astonishing  blunder  !  It  may  be  called  for  largeness 
and  beauty,  and  attraction  —  a  world.  "  Whatso- 
ever things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest, 
whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are 
pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever 
things  are  of  good  report,"  are  included  in  it ;  and 
included  in  perpetual  development  and  increase. 
God  will  go  on  to  bless ;  Christ  will  be  more  and 
more  the  fountain  of  light  and  holiness.  "  Of  his 
fulness  have  we  all  received,  and  grace  for  grace." 
Think  of  this,  when  the  world  tempts  you.  Think 
what  God  is  able  to  do,  and  will  do.  Think  of  the 
work  as  alread}^  begun  within  you,  if  you  are  of  his 
people ;  and  examine  carefully  whether  you  experi- 
^ence  the  divine  efficacy  of  "  the  power  that  work- 
eth  in  us." 

3.  This  subject  suggests  matter  for  our  desires 
and  prayers.  The  doctrine  is  addressed  to  pray- 
ing people ;  "  above  all  that  we  ask  or  think." 
Unconverted  persons  never  pray  heartily  and  under- 
standingly  for  genuine  holiness  ;  but  those  who  are 
converted,  if  they  ever  pray  for  any  thing,  pray  for 
this.     The  apprehension  of  these  spiritual  realities 


god's  omnipotence.  10?' 

in  their  beauty  and  glory,  does  not  come  all  at 
once,  and  we  must  be  satisfied  if  one  whose  eyes 
are  only  just  opened  sees  "  men  as  trees  walking :" 
but  it  infallibly  comes,  ii^  the  course  of  Christian 
experience.  And  not  more  truly  and  earnestly 
does  the  blind  man  express  the  topmost  wish  of  his 
heart,  "  Lord,  that  I  might  receive  my  sight !"  than 
the  believer  his  longing,  "  O  that  my  ways  were 
dii'ected  to  keep  thy  statutes !  In  an  earlier  stage 
of  experience  he  may  have  been  too  anxious  about 
temporal  things ;  but  now  his  sober  conviction  is, 
that  nothing  is  worth  caring  for,  or  asking  of  God 
with  any  importunity,  but  spiritual  and  eternal 
good.  In  the  revolution  of  ages,  the  day  will  come, 
when  earthly  or  carnal  gifts  will  no  longer  be  a 
blessing  ;  but  the  day  will  never  come  when  truth, 
holiness,  love,  and  God's  image  shall  be  less  valu- 
able ;  nay  they  will  be  growing  in  value  to  all 
eternity.  Our  prayers  then  are  most  sure  to  be 
right,  and  to  be  answered,  when  they  are  for  im- 
perishable things,  and  for  what  God  himself  regards 
as  real  good.  Praying  for  the  future  glory  is  the 
way  to  be  fitted  for  it ;  and  while  we  so  pray  to  be 
conformed  to  God,  we  are  subjected  to  the  mighty 
power,  .mentioned  by  Paul,  whereby  he  is  able  to 
subdue  all  things  unto  himself  The  encourage- 
ment to  such  prayers  need  not  be  here  rehearsed, 
seeing  it  has  been  our  principal  topic  :  "  God  is  able 
to  do  exceeding  abundantly,  above  all  that  we  ask 
or  think."  Nothing  is  more  pleasing  to  him,  than 
our  desires  that  this  spiritual  work  should  go  on  in 


104  CONSOLATIOTf. 

US  niiglitily.  He  inspires  sucli  prayers,  meaning  to 
answer  tliem :  I  may  say  they  are  partly  answered 
in  tlie  very  asking.  These  are  moments  when  the 
soul  feels  that  it  would  rather  suffer  affliction  than 
not  be  sanctified,  and  rejoices  and  glories  in  tribula- 
tion, because  the  experience  which  it  derives  from 
them  is  heaven  begun.  There  is  a  peculiar  excel- 
lency in  the  holy  pleasures  of  the  afflicted :  it  is  on 
the  face  of  the  wilderness  that  this  manna  falls. 
And  there  cannot  be  named  a  pursuit  or  enterprise 
of  human  beings,  in  which  there  is  so  little  possibi- 
lity of  failure  as  praying  for  sanctification.  God  is 
able  to  do  above  your  asking. 

4.  Such  expectations  from  God's  greatness  and 
goodness  may  well  sustain  us  amidst  the  trials  of 
life.  If  these  are  sharp,  so  as  to  put  our  utmost  pa- 
tience to  the  proof,  we  may  look  forward  towards 
the  immensity  of  the  promise.  We  may  have  loss- 
es ;  but  till  they  avail  to  take  away  our  God,  they  can- 
not effectually  cloud  the  glorious  prospect.  Though 
we  have  seen  the  blessings  promised  to  belong  chief- 
ly to  the  spiritual  and  eternal  world,  yet  we  are  not 
to  suppose  that  our  heavenly  Father  is  indifferent 
to  the  condition  of  his  children  during  the  course  of 
their  present  pilgrimage.  The  hairs  of  their  head 
are  all  numbered,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habita- 
tion are  chosen.  Even  in  regard  to  this  life,  he  is 
able  to  do  more  than  they  ask  or  think.  He  can 
draw  off  the  heavy  clouds  which  obscure  their  skies ; 
nay,  he  will  certainly  do  so  at  the  very  first  moment 
when  it  shall  consist  with  his  infinite  plan  of  mercy 


7«   ^„..^^^^^.^^  II  U  ^r^ifOt^  r^^ 


GOD'S    OMNIPOTENCE.  I        4F/ly3>/, 

Thus  lie  caused  the  dark  day  of  Jacob's  affliction  uu-  ^S^ 
der  his  supposed  bereavement,  to  brighten  into  an  at? 

evening  of  peace  and  joy.      Thus  the  unexampled '. 

losses  of  Job  were  followed  by  equally  unexampled 
indemnity.  Yet  after  all  that  we  may  concede,  as  to 
the  profit  of  godliness  in  the  present  life,  its  chief 
expectations  ^x  themselves  on  that  which  is  to  come ; 
and  these  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises  are 
the  headspring  of  every  believer's  comfort.  To  these 
he  can  come,  when  all  cisterns  are  dry.  This 
is  blessedness  in  days  of  povert}^,  pain,  and  be- 
reavement. Like  the  ancient  prophet,  he  still  says, 
"  Yet  will  I  rejoice  in  the  Lord  :  I  will  joy  in  the 
God  of  my  salvation."  The  more  enlarged  his  views 
of  the  Divine  power  and  faithfulness,  the  more  will 
he  expect ;  and  the  brighter  his  expectations  are, 
the  less  will  he  feel  the  weight  of  present  burdens.  ^ 
If  our  afflictions  aijg  heavy,  and  sometimes  intolera- 
ble, it  is  because  we  dwell  too  little  in  thoughts  of 
the  glory,  which  is  to  be  revealed.  What  but  this 
enabled  the  Christian  martyrs,  in  the  primitive  age, 
to  endure  excruciating  penalties,  and  death  in  its 
most  hideous  forms,  but  the  confidence  they  had  in  ' 
God's  ability  and  readiness  to  admit  them  into  his 
exceeding  joy  ?  If  for  a  moment  their  belief  of 
the  truth  we  are  considering  could  have  wavered, 
they  would  have  fainted,  and  given  way  under  the 
vehemence  of  their  torments.  That  which  can  sup- 
port a  man  under  the  assaults  of  the  chief  and  last 
enemy,  even  death,  can  surely  hold  him  up  under 
foregoing  and  lesser  trials      But  we  know  by  edify- 


106  CONSOLATION. 

ing  observation  at  the  bedsides  of  the  dying,  that 
large  expectation  from  God's  power  and  love  can 
thus  sustain ;  at  a  juncture  when  it  were  madness  to 
look  for  any  thing  from  earthly  sources.  All  which 
should  encourage  us  to  study  the  riches  of  God's 
omnipotent  mercy,  as  a  resource  when  heart  and 
flesh  fail. 

In  grief  and  pain,  when  frail  nature  is  ready  to 
succumb,  this  doctrine  of  God's  ability  to  relieve 
and  save  comes  like  a  cordial  to  the  soul.  It  cannot 
deceive,  because  its  foundation  reaches  down  to  the 
rocky  and  eternal  base  of  all  excellency  and  all  being. 
Till  divinity  itself  shall  (thange,  this  must  remain 
the  firm  consolation  of  the  believer.  And  his  peace 
will  be  in  proportion  to  his  faith :  whence  it  is  to 
be  inferred,  that  we  should  have  more  ample  pro- 
vision for  the  seasons  of  sorrow,  if  in  our  times  of 
prosperity  we  were  more  engaged  in  profound  medi- 
X  tation  on  the  attributes  of  God.  The  sovereign 
Author  of  Grace,  who  observes  a  holy  order  in  his 
dispensations  to  the  church,  is  not  wont  to  pour  his 
richest  solace  over  the  souls  of  those  who  have 
sought  him  negligently,  or  who  have  been  driven  to 
seek  him  only  on  the  access  of  calamity.  Even  to 
these  he  shows  himself  to  be  a  God  of  mercy ;  but 
his  largest  gifts  of  consolation  are  to  those  who  have 
learned  to  make  him  their  refuge  before  the  tempest 
began  to  howl.  True  believers,  educated  by  a  long 
discipline  to  expect  from  God,  turn  to  him  in  the 
hour  of  sorrow,  as  naturally  as  the  infant  to  tho 
mother's  bosom.     They  know  whom  they  have  be- 


god's  omnipotence.  107 

lieved.  Their  confidence  in  this  new  emergency  is 
only  the  exercise  of  a  trust  which  has  been  the  habit 
of  their  sunnier  days.  Long  ago  they  have  settled 
their  hearts  in  the  firm  persuasion,  that  God  is  able  to 
do  exceeding  abundantly  above  their  prayers  or  con- 
ceptions. The  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  takes  of 
these  familiar  truths,  and  makes  them  ejffectual  in 
the  hour  of  tribulation.  Though  there  be  no  more 
sign  of  deliverance  than  for  Abraham,  when  his 
hand  was  raised  to  sacrifice  his  son,  they  are  strong 
in  faith,  giving  glory  to  God.  Though  Divine  Wis- 
dom cast  an  impenetrable  curtain  over  all  the  ways 
and  means  of  escape,  they  flee  with  confidence  to 
the  infinite  attributes  of  him  in  whom  they  have 
trusted.  And  when  every  hope  on  this  side  of 
heaven  has  failed,  they  can  still  rejoice  in  the  mar- 
vels of  loving  mercy  which  their  Lord  stands  ready 
to  display  in  the  coming  eternity. 

5.  Here  is  ground  for  high  praise  lb  God  for 
this  infinite  love.  The  text  is  brought  in  as  a 
doxology ;  see  verse  21.  The  apostle  strikes  a  note 
of  thanksgiving,  that  is  to  be  endless  in  the  church, 
militant  and  triumphant.  All  ages  shall  be  full  of 
the  "  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace."  In  our  pres- 
ent state  we  are  most  ready  to  express  gratitude  for 
temporal  deliverances  and  mercies ;  but  in  the  future 
state,  we  shall  find  these  all  swallowed  up  in  the 
blessing  of  salvation,  and  shall  understand  salvation 
better,  as  being  the  life  of  God;  the  subduing  of 
the  will  unto  his ;  the  growing  like  our  Maker  and 
Redeemer ;  and  the  higher  and  higher  reaches  of 


108  CONSOLATION. 

knowledge  and  love.  The  longer  we  live  the  life 
of  heaven,  the  better  shall  we  know  what  we  have 
to  give  thanks  for ;  because  we  shall  know  better 
what  God  is,  and  be  nearer  to  him,  and  more  fully 
acquainted  with  the  wonders  of  his  universe,  and 
the  richness  of  his  wisdom.  Here,  we  do  but  bab- 
ble like  infants  about  these  things ;  "  we  know  in 
part,  and  we  prophesy  in  part ;"  "  but  when  that 
which  is  perfect  is  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part 
shall  be  done  away."  Here  we  form  low  concep- 
tions of  what  our  Heavenly  Father  is  able  to  do ; 
and  we  can  give  thanks  only  according  to  our  know- 
ledge ;  but  as  our  comprehension  of  divine  grace 
and  glory  increases,  we  shall  fall  down  on  the  gold- 
en pavement  in  speechless  rapture  of  gratitude. 
But  ah !  how  difficult  is  it  to  speak  prudently  of 
things  beyond  our  experience.  Let  us  be  modest, 
in  regard  to  what  is  not  revealed.  Of  particulars 
we  know  nothing  ;  of  the  general  truth  we  are  cer- 
tain. God  will  never  let  drop  that  work  in  the 
soul,  which  he  has  taken  in  hand.  "  Now  unto  him 
that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all 
that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power  that 
worketh  in  us,  unto  him  be  glory  in  the  church,  by 
Christ  Jesus,  throughout  all  ages,  world  without 
end.    Amen." 


THE  GOODNESS  OF  GOD  A  REFUGE  IN 

TIME  OF  TROUBLE. 
\ 


IN  every  age,  perhaps  we  miglit  even  say  in  every 
Christian  experience,  there  are  junctures  in  which 
it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  the  dispensations  of  provi- 
dence with  the  goodness  of  God.  The  controversy 
began  in  the  patriarchal  days,  and  is  the  grand  argu- 
ment of  the  book  of  Job.  "Wherefore  do  the 
wicked  live,  become  old,  yea,  are  mighty  in  power  ?" 
Job  21 :  Y.  The  seventy-third  psalm  is  occupied 
with  the  clearing  of  the  same  paradox.  Jeremiah, 
pre-eminently  a  sorrowful  man,  breaks  forth  thus : 
"  Righteous  art  thou,  O  Lord,  when  I  plead  with  thee, 
yet  let  me  reason  the  case  with  thee  of  thy  judg- 
ments: Wherefore  doth  the  way  of  the  wicked 
prosper?"  Jer.  12  :  1,  marg.  The  worst  men  are 
sometimes  apparently  happy,  and  the  consequence 
is,  that  the  believer  is  envious  at  the  foolish.  Ene- 
mies of  God  appear  to  him  to  succeed  in  every 
undertaking.  Wealth  flows  in  on  them;  they 
arrogate  to  themselves  an  exemption  from  all  re- 
verses, and  feel  insured  even  against  providence; 
they  fill  the  public  eye,  they  build  and  decorate, 
they  gather  about  them  the  gay  and  the  revelling, 
they  leave  wealth  to  their  children. 


112  .  CONSOLATION. 

In  the  very  same  view,  pious  men  are  thouglit 
to  be  unhappy,  and  beyond  a  doubt  are  afflicted. 
Nothing  is  more  true  of  them,  as  a  class,  than  that 
they  suffer.  If  we  look  at  all  the  retinue  of  believ- 
ers, following  Christ  up  the  steep  ascent,  we  behold 
them  bearing  the  cross,  while  the  rugged  path  is  mark- 
ed by  the  blood  of  their  feet,  and  their  eyes  are  wet 
with  weeping.     They  come  out  of  great  tribulation. 

Under  the  perplexities  of  this  contemplation, 
what  is  left  for  the  believer  in  his  anguish,  but  to 
seek  the  resort  which  we  have  been  pointing  out, 
and  to  search  among  God's  awful  attributes  for  some 
one  which  may  be  a  solace  ?  The  name  of  the  Lord 
is  a  strong  tower.  But  no  gate  of  that  fortress  is 
unbarred  for  our  entrance,  until  we  approach  under 
the  banner  of  Christ.  We  compass  the  lofty,  for- 
bidding wall,  but  find  no  crevice  open  for  sin.  Yet 
these  characters  of  God  are  all  we  have.  For  look 
heavenward,  and  consider : — If  He  were  ignorant  or 
unwise,  we  might  suffer  without  his  knowledge,  or 
sink  in  waters  which  he  could  not  explore :  we  might 
be  lost  in  mazes  where  his  eye  could  not  follow  us, 
or  be  carried  away  in  whirlwinds  which  he  knew  not 
how  to  quell.  If  he  were  limited  in  power,  we  might 
groan  under  the  very  burden  which  he  could  not 
lift  off.  If  he  were  afar,  in  some  pavilion  beyond 
our  system,  he  could  not  be  reached  by  our  cry  of 
anguish  when  the  deep  waters  went  over  our  soul ; 
and  were  he  not  here  this  moment,  it  would  be 
mockery  to  pray.  If  he  were  not  good,  our  happi- 
ness? would  be  nothing  to  him,  and  we  might  have 


^  GOD^S    GOODNESS.  113 

hellish  pain  for  ever  and  ever.  If  he  were  not  mer- 
ciful, he  could  not  care  how  wretched  we  are ;  and 
if  he  were  not  gracious,  we  should  sink  in  despair, 
being  sinners.  But  because  he  is  Almighty,  All- wise, 
All-seeing,  Every-where-present,  boundless,  everlast- 
ing, and  unchangeable,  in  goodness,  mercy,  and  com- 
passion— we  have  in  him  a  refuge  and  stronghold,  to 
which  we  may  continually  resort.  The  perfections 
of  God  afford  a  refuge :  and  in  time  of  trouble,  faith 
resorts  to  this  refuge. 

The  perfections  of  God  afford  a  refuge.  Raise  your 
eyes  towards  the  loftiness  of  our  stronghold.  But  take 
off  the  shoes  from  off  your  feet,  for  the  place  is  holy 
ground.  As  sinners,  you  will  first  be  arrested  by  a 
trait  of  Divinity.  God  is  just.  The  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  will  do  right.  The  reverse  is  inconceivable. 
When  we  think  of  a  being  who  can  do  wrong,  we  no 
longer  think  of  God.  Nothing  which  he  does  can  be 
unjust,  arbitrary,  or  hard.  He  smites  down  the  ven- 
erable and  beloved  shepherd,  in  the  very  moment 
when  his  dearest  earthly  stays  have  been  purposely 
removed.  Or  he  overwhelms  in  the  tide  of  sudden 
death,  a  mingled  throng  of  youth  and  age,  loveliness 
and  crime.  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
right  ?  Hush  thy  insane  murmurs,  O  worm !  "  Be 
silent,  O  all  flesh,  before  Jehovah ;  for  he  is  raised 
up  out  of  the  habitation  of  his  holiness !"   Zech.  2 :  13. 

We  cannot  imagine  a  motive  which  an  Infinite 

Being  could  have  to  do  an  act  of  injustice.     All  the 

earth  and  all  heaven  unite  in  praising  Jehovah  as 

righteous.     But  O  reader,  can  we  cHmb  up  to  oui 

8 


114  CONSOLATION. 

refage  by  this  frowning  battlement !  Nay,  it  is  im* 
pregnable.  If  indeed  we  were  so  far  freed  from  per- 
sonal regards  as  to  be  governed  in  our  tliougbts  and 
judgments  by  a  sense  of  general  equity,  and  respect 
to  tlie  honour  of  God,  it  is  conceivable  that  we  might 
acquiesce  fully  in  decisions  of  the  Most  High,  which 
should  contravene  our  own  happiness.  We  should 
then  submit  to  naked  Justice.  Some  urge  this  as 
the  first  step  in  a  sinner's  return;  but  the  Bible 
knows  no  such  refinement  of  abstract  submission :  it 
would,  if  possible,  be  the  last  and  not  the  first  step 
of  sanctification :  the  mighty  effort  of  the  giant,  not 
the  infant  motion  of  the  new-born  soul.  Let  me  not 
for  a  moment  be  misunderstood.  Submission  to 
God's  will,  and  that  in  the  most  absolute  sense,  is 
the  duty  of  every  intelligent  creature,  and  is  a  state 
of  mind  to  which  the  influences  of  the  regenerating 
and  sanctifying  Spirit  infallibly  lead.  But  there  is 
an  order  in  the  dispensation  of  gracious  affections ; 
and  agreeably  to  that  order  it  is  not  the  first  de- 
mand on  an  unreconciled  heart  that  it  should  yield 
a  legal  submission  to  infinite  justice,  so  as  to  be  will- 
ing to  endure  everlasting  condemnation,  however 
righteous.  Such  a  submission  to  naked  justice  is  not 
to  be  looked  for  in  our  present  state,  and  this  for 
two  reasons.  First,  because  God  made  man  a  being 
desirous  of  happiness.  It  is  a  radical  principle.  It 
is  God's  own  work.  It  is  not  one  of  those  desires 
which  came  from  the  poison  of  the  forbidden  tree, 
but  a  propensity  wrought  into  the  first  Adam,  throb- 
bing in  the  heart  of  the  first  Eve,  actuating  the  holy 


god's  goodness.  115 

pair  among  the  trees  of  tlie  garden,  and  appealed 
to,  by  Jehovah,  in  the  first  threat  and  the  first 
promise.  Let  the  metaphysical  divine  confront  his 
God  in  Paradise,  and  say  whether  the  propensity 
which  is  there  recognized  is  necessarily  sinful.  We 
are  unable  to  think  of  any  one  as  a  reasonable 
human  being,  who  does  nt)t,  in  all  possible  circum- 
stances, desire  his  own  welfare.  One  may  choose  a 
present  evil,  or  relinquish  a  present  good :  but  it  is 
in  every  case  with  the  hope  of  avoiding  some  greater 
evil,  or  obtaining  some  greater  good.  Speculation 
has  added  to  the  words  that  are  written  in  this  book, 
by  enjoining  a  chimerical  duty — that  of  being  will- 
ing to  be  eternally  miserable — as  impossible  as  it  is 
uncommanded.  Suppose  it  proved  that  my  indi- 
vidual misery  for  ever  shall  be  for  the  greatest  good 
of  the  universe,  does  this  make  me  content  to  suffer 
misery,  except  under  a  hope  of  indemnification  or 
relief?  No:  the  Gospel  takes  away  all  that  is 
earthly,  but  pours  back  all  heaven  into  the  bosom. 
Indeed,  when  we  closely  examine  this  vaunted  meta- 
physic,  it  is  a  contradiction  in  terms  to  say  that  a 
man  desires  unhappiness:  inasmuch  as  the  accom- 
plishment of  our  desires  is  happiness  itself  There- 
fore, a  total  disregard  of  private  interest  or  individ- 
ual enjoyment  is  not  commanded  in  all  this  volume. 
We  are  to  love  our  neighbour  as  ourselves.  We 
may  then  love  ourselves :  may  ?  we  must  love 
ourselves:  and  self-love  becomes  sin  only  when  it 
becomes  selfishness.  The  other  reason  why  so 
fitoical  a  submission  to  abstract  justice  is  not  de- 


116  CONSOLATION. 

manded  in  our  present  state  is,  that  it  presupposes 
an  extent  of  knowledge  more  tlian  human.  Our 
views  are  so  limited,  that  we  cannot  take  in  all 
worlds  and  systems  and  ages:  yet  we  must  take 
these  in,  to  detei'mine  what  is  best,  wisest  and  most 
just  in  the  government  of  God.  Our  ignorance, 
therefore,  joins  with  our  self-love,  with  that  self-love 
which  God's  finger  engraved  on  the  decalogue,  and 
infused  into  the  heart,  to  prevent  our  finding  a 
refuge  in  the  mere  justice  of  God.  We  submit  to  it 
as  righteous ;  we  do  not  enjoy  it  as  happiness,  till  we 
join  other  views  of  God,  and  catch  a  glimpse  of  full- 
orbed  Deity  in  the  Sun  of  Righteousness. 

Let  us  descend  into  our  experience.  A  sudden 
or  a  lingering  anguish  comes  and  kills  my  peace.  I 
break  the  seal  of  heart-wasting  tidings,  or  I  stand 
by  the  coffin  of  my  first-born.  The  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  will  do  right.  This  comes  home  to  the  under- 
standing as  a  glorious  and  undeniable  truth.  But 
then  it  may  be  right  that  I  should  be  wretched. 
God  will  act  as  a  righteous  King ;  but  it  may  be 
righteous  for  him  to  make  me  miserable.  Justice,  so 
far  from  comforting,  is  my  terror.  I  look  up  t<^  the 
precipitous  side  of  the  fortress,  and  see  the  brist- 
ling weapons  of  vindictive  law  barring  my  ascent. 
It  was  right  for  the  flaming  sword  to  keep  the  gate 
of  Eden.  It  was  right  for  the  Salt  Sea  to  surge 
over  Sodom,  Gomorrah  and  Zeboim.  It  was  right 
that  Judas  should  go  to  his  own  place.  It  waa 
right  that  the  sword  should  smite  the  Shepherd 
when  he  stood  for  the  sheep.     It  is  right  that  in 


god's    goodness.  I(  ^iT/Ut  ^/y^ 

yonder  lake  the  smoke  of  their  torments  goetli  up  '  ^, 
for  ever  and  ever.  It  may  be  right  that  this  great'  ]^j 
pang  should  enter  my  heart  from  the  right  hand  of  ''^— 
Infinite  Justice.  ISTay  more,  not  only  ifc  may  be 
right — but  O  conscience,  conscience,  relentless  con- 
science, thou  ceasest  not  day  nor  night  to  tell  me, 
it  is  right — it  cannot  but  be  right !  I  feel  it  to  be 
right.  All  within  me  rises  to  confirm  the  verdict 
with  horrid  acclamation :  I  am  a  sinner ;  "  the  soul 
that  sinneth,  it  shall  die."  In  the  mere  justice  of 
God,  then,  I  find  no  solace  in  affliction.  My  uncon- 
verted friend,  you  deny  yourself  all  other  resource. 
That  justice  I  plainly  see  to  be  against  me.  I  can- 
not scale  that  eternal  wall.  Justice  exacts  the  pun- 
ishment of  sin^^ut  I  am  a  sinner.  Justice  exacts 
obedience,  full,  unbroken  and  implicit ;  but  I  have 
long  since  broken  the  covenant.  The  stripes  which 
I  endure  are  but  the  earnest  of  my  penalty.  Yet 
they  are  just  stripes :  they  are  such  as  it  befits  Infi- 
nite Justice  to  inflict.  Wonder  it  is,  that  I  have 
not  long  since  been  given  over  to  the  executioner. 
Where  can  I  look  ? — ^in  what  cleft  of  burning  Sinai 
can  I  find  a  refuge  ? 

Thus  it  is  that  the  attribute  of  Justice,  viewed 
alone,  gives  no  comfort,  and  opens  no  stronghold  to 
man,  considered  as  a  sinner.  And  it  is  for  this  very 
reason,  that  the  eye  of  the  suflferer  is  directed  to 
another  quarter  of  the  heavens.  I  hasten  to  the 
point  indicated  in  the  outset.  When  we  begin  to 
learn  from  the  Scriptures,  that  God  is  a  God  of  love 
and  tender   compassion;  that   his  very  stripes  are 


118  CONSOLATION. 

awakening  ns  to  fly;  that  he  doth  not  willingly 
afflict  and  grieve ;  that  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he 
chasteneth ;  when  behind  the  lifted  rod  we  discern 
a  Father's  tears ;  and  when,  as  being  in  covenant, 
we  consider  that  the  same  afflictions  are  accomplish- 
ed in  our  brethren  that  are  in  the  world ;  that  they 
are  not  by  chance,  but  appointed  with  the  full  con- 
sent of  Him  who  stands  by  the  throne,  and  who 
loved  us  so  that  he  died  for  us,  and  is  now  our  Guar- 
dian, Trustee,  Surety,  Advocate,  and  Husband — 
when  we  find  that  he  has  brought  us  into  this 
wilderness  with  an  intention,  and  hedges  up  our 
way  with  preventive  tenderness — the  desert  begins 
to  smile ;  the  thirsty  waste  seems  gj9ist  with  springs 
of  water ;  the  sandy  plain  appears  newly  clad  with 
trees  of  pleasure ;  the  "land  is  as  the  garden  of  Eden ;" 
the  voice  of  the  Lord  is  heard  among  the  trees  of 
the  garden;  after  sultry  heats,  the  cool  of  the 
evening  reveals  the  form  of  the  Shepherd ;  he  lead- 
eth  us  beside  the  still  waters.  "  Yea,  though  I  walk 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will 
fear  no  evil ;  for  thou  art  with  me ;  thy  rod  and 
thy  staff  they  comfort  me." 

And  O  how  suddenly  can  this  change  be  wrought 
in  the  soul !  Think  not  even  a  sudden  death  is  de- 
nied these  revelations.  It  is  not  sudden  to  him  who 
sends  it.  Whether  he  gently  unwind  the  silver 
cord  or  dash  the  golden  bowl  to  pieces  at  a  blow ; 
whether  the  aged  servant  in  his  bed  ebbs  away 
into  eternity  by  long  decay,  or  welcomes  his  Mastei 
in  some  spasm  of  the  heart ;  or  loses  his  earttf ''  con 


god's  goodness.  119 

sciousness  amidst  the  shrieks  and  strangulation  of 
sMpwreck — what  are  these  incidents?  God  was 
there ;  Christ  was  there.  On  this  side  we  see  corpses 
and  desolation ;  on  that  side  they  see  a  delivered 
spirit,  embosomed  in  love,  entered  into  the  strong- 
hold and  refuge. 

Justice  no  longer  appals  us,  when  it  is  satisfied 
in  Christ.  It  is  the  love,  the  mercy,  the  grace,  the 
long-suffering,  the  fatherly  compassion  of  our  God, 
which  is  our  citadel.  "  The  name  of  the  Lord  is  a 
strong  tower ;  the  righteous  runneth  into  it  and  are 
safe."  What  name  is  this  ?  "  The  Lord,  the  Lord 
God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering,  and  abun- 
dant in  goodness  and  truth;  keeping  mercy  for 
thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression  and  sin, 
and  that  will  by  no  means  spare  the  guilty."  This 
name  is  our  strong  tower ;  this  God  is  our  strong- 
hold. We  may  take  refuge  in  every  name  and  attri- 
bute as  in  a  separate  chamber  of  our  fortress.  And 
the  consolation  is  not  confined  to  any  specific  case, 
but  has  a  generality  wide  enough  to  embrace  all 
who  find  the  true  entrance.  The  promise  is  exceed- 
ing wide,  and  opens  its  dooi*s  to  all  the  throng  of 
the  wearied  and  heavy-laden. 

The  teaching  of  the  Scripture  is,  therefore,  plain : 
we  have  a  refuge.  The  love  of  God,  under  the 
various  names  of  goodness,  bounty,  long-suffering, 
compassion,  mercy,  and  grace,  is  that  which  opens 
to  us  in  our  flight.  Only  convince  a  man,  on  gos- 
pel grounds,  that  God  loves  him,  and  in  proportion 
to  his  faith,  you  make  him  a  happy  man     Let  hisc 


120  CONSOLATION. 

only  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  him  of 
God,  and  he  is  comforted.  "  When,  by  the  Spiiit 
of  God,"  says  Luther,  speaking  of  his  conversion,  "  I 
learnt  how  the  justification  of  the  sinner  proceeds 
from  God's  mere  mercy,  by  the  way  of  faith,  then  1 
felt  myself  boru  again,  as  a  new  man ;  and  I  enter- 
ed by  an  open  door  into  the  paradise  of  God.  From 
that  hour  I  saw  the  precious  and  holy  Scriptures 
with  new  eyes."  He  had  entered  the  stronghold. 
Let  a  man  comprehend  the  import  of  the  declara- 
tion that  God  is  good ;  let  him  think  who  and  how 
great  God  is;  what  and  how  copious  his  all-suffi- 
ciency ;  how  boundless  his  ability  to  bless ;  how  ex- 
quisite the  pleasures  at  his  right  hand  for  evermore ; 
and  then  let  him  stand  and  wonder  at  the  greatness 
of  affection  affirmed  of  such  a  Being,  who  sits  at  the 
fount  of  all  conceivable  good,  creates  all  susceptibili- 
ties of  enjoyment,  and  floods  them  with  holy  falness. 
Let  him  muse  on  this  till  he  has  begun  to  conceive 
what  God  is,  what  God's  love  is,  and  how  it  must 
gush  from  this  spring-head,  and  stream  into  swell- 
ing rivers  of  deep  and  spreading  beneficence,  of  vast 
and  awful  bliss,  from  its  sources  in  the  heart  of 
infinite  favour ;  and  then  let  him  turn  inwards,  and 
shudder  to  behold  that  the  object  of  all  this  is — 
himself  I  say,  let  a  man  thus  be  told,  and  thus 
understand,  and  thus  believe  that  God  loves  him — 
and  he  is  a  happy  man :  he  now  knows  that  God  is 
a  refuge. 

You  do  not  bless  the  afflicted  sinner,  I  repeat  it, 
by  saying  to  him  that  God  is  just.     Sinners  also  be- 


god's  goodness.  12i 

lieve  and  tremble.  The  never-failing  replication  of 
his  conscience  is,  and  "because  He  is  just,  I  am 
wretched."  But  when  you  would  revive  the  spirit 
of  the  contrite,  say  to  him,  God  is  love.  It  will  be 
a  dead  letter  to  hii;n,  unless  he  looks  at  the  cross ; 
but  let  him  so  look,  and  he  beholds  a  door.  Thus 
the  solitary  young  monk  was  led  in  by  Staupitz : 
"  Look  at  the  wounds  of  Christ,"  he  said  to  Luther, 
*  and  you  will  there  see  shining  clearly  the  purpose 
of  God  towards  men.  We  cannot  understand  God 
out  of  Christ^  Hence  the  maxim  of  the  Re- 
former's after  years :  "  I  cannot  come  near  the  abso- 
lute God."  Nolo  Deum  ahsolutum!  Love  is  the 
attribute  which  shows  us  most  of  God.  Here  we 
gaze  on  most  of  the  divine  effulgence.  Power  might 
be  malevolent ;  knowledge  might  be  distant ;  im- 
mensity might  overwhelm ;  but  love,  essentially,  in 
itself,  is  blissful,  and  to  all  around  it  communicates 
bliss.  It  is  only  as  believers  that  we  can  reconcile 
the  seeming  opposites — "  God  is  a  consuming  fire," 
and  "  God  is  Love." 

The  different  ways  in  which  Jehovah  shows  his 
love  may  have  different  names ;  but  it  is  only  the 
same  adorable,  undivided  Perfection,  shining  in  love. 
The  rainbow  that  is  about  the  throne  may  have  its 
distinguishable  colours,  but  the  ray  is  one,  and  its 
name  is  Love.  "  For  thou.  Lord,  art  good,  and  ready 
to  forgive,  and  plenteous  in  mercy  unto  all  them 
that  call  upon  thee ;  a  God  full  of  compasaion  and 
gracious :  long-suffering  and  plenteous  in  mercy  and 
truth."     This  is  not  tautology:  it  is  human  mind 


122  CONSOLATION. 

and  language  sinking  under  repeated  efibrts  to 
express  the  inexpressible,  to  go  around  the  tower  of 
glory,  and  survey  first  one  side  and  then  another  of 
that  structure  which  is  the  centre  and  glory  of  the 
Church.  Let  men  of  the  world  consider  this.  Their 
rock  is  not  as  our  Rock,  even  themselves  being 
judges.  Here  is  our  city  of  strength,  O  worldlings ! 
"  Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her ;  tell 
ye  the  towers  thereof;  mark  ye  well  her  bulwarks ; 
consider  her  palaces.  For  this  God  is  our  God  for 
ever  and  ever:  he  will  be  our  guide  even  unto 
death,  Ps.  48.  Or  in  the  words  of  another  Scrip- 
ture, Jehovah  is  good. 

In  time  of  trouUe^  faith  actually  resorts  to  this 
refuge.  The  lofty  gates  have  been  open  for  ages, 
and  the  fugitives  of  all  nations  have  been  press- 
ing in ;  but  yet  there  is  room.  Times  of  trouble 
have  not  ceased  from  our  world.  In  such  times,  we 
need  some  refuge,  stronghold  and  solace.  Every 
man  seeks  some  refuge  of  this  kind.  Let  a  sudden 
blast  ruffle  our  bay,  and  the  squadron  of  small  craffc 
are  instantly  dispersed,  each  making  for  its  little 
haven.  The  hiding-places  of  men  are  discovered  by 
affliction.  As  one  has  aptly  said,  "  Our  refuges  are 
like  the  nests  of  birds  ;  in  summer  they  are  hidden 
among  the  green  leaves,  but  in  winter  they  are  seen 
among  the  naked  branches."  Ungodly  men  being 
afraid  of  God,  and  feeling  that  they  are  at  enmity 
with  him,  go  any  where  else  for  solace  in  affliction. 
Some  turn  to  worldly  business,  and  buy  and  sell 
with  redoubled  activity;  some  count  up  the  idols 


god's  goodness.  '  123 

that  remain,  and  plan  new  enterprises;  some  go 
into  light  company,  read  light  books,  or  flutter 
through  the  dance  of  light  amusements ;  some  have 
been  known  to  enter  the  sty  of  drunkenness. 
Troubles  drive  each  one  to  his  refuge,  and  each  has 
his  little  retreat,  his  shrine  and  his  idol,  which  he 
seeks  at  such  times.  And  the  child  of  God  has  his 
refuge,  and  goes  into  it.  Above  the  raging  of  the 
water-floods,  when  all  around  is  consternation,  he 
hears  the  voice,*  as  of  a  trumpet,  saying  from  the 
bulwarks  :  "  Come,  my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy 
chambers,  and  shut  the  doors  about  thee ;  hide  thy- 
self, as  it  were,  for  a  little  moment,  until  the  indig- 
nation be  overpast."  Is.  26  :  20.  And  emerging  from 
the  waves,  he  responds :  "  In  the  shadow  of  thy 
wings  will  I  make  my  refuge,  until  these  calamities 
be  overpast."  Ps.  57  :  1.  "  When  my  heart  is  over- 
whelmed within  me,  lead  me  to  the  Rock  that  is 
higher  than  I."  "  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength, 
a  very  present  help  in  trouble;  therefore  will 
we  not  fear,  though  the  earth  be  removed,  and 
though  the  mountains  be  carried  into  the  midst  of 
the  sea,  though  the  waters  thereof  roar  and  be 
troubled,  though  the  mountains  shake  with  the 
swelling  thereof."  Such  cries  of  exultation  l:ave 
often  risen  from  the  ocean-waste,  when  God's  chil- 
dren have  been  swallowed  in  the  deep.  Can  I 
doubt  that  when  the  long- remembered  steamer  Pre- 
eident  was  mysteriously  crushed  by  the  Atlantic 
surge,  the  lofty  voice  of  Cookman,  which  I  have  so 
often  heard  with  a  thrill  of  delight  calling  sinners 


1 24  CONSOLATION. 

to  Christ,  as  with  the  clear  penetrating  notes  of  a 
3larion,  can  I  doubt  that  that  voice  was  lifted  abo\e 
the  noise  of  the  waves,  in  some  such  strain  as  this  • 
"  The  Lord  on  high  is  mightier  than  the  voice  of 
many  waters,  yea  than  the  mighty  waves  of  the 
seal"  And  need  we  doubt,  that  in  a  late  catas- 
trophe, more  than  one  sanctified  spirit,  even  in  that 
little  moment  on  the  deck,  or  struggling  in  the  cur- 
rent, or  locked  up  in  those  lower  chambers  of  death, 
was  enabled  to  gather  itself  and  say.  Lord  Jesus,  re- 
ceive my  spirit !  The  moment  of  death  requires 
simple  exercises,  thanks  be  to  God ;  the  way  into 
that  refuge  is  direct,  especially  to  one  who  has  been 
coming  to  it  day  by  day  for  years.  The  word 
stronghold  in  the  text,  means  in  Hebrew  a  dwell- 
ing-place, abode,  or  mansion.  It  is  the  same  used 
it  the  ninetieth  Psalm :  "  Thou  hast  been  our  dwell- 
ing-place in  all  generations."  To  the  believer,  God 
is  not  merely  a  retreat,  but  an  abode ;  not  a  refuge 
just  found  out  when  trouble  surprises,  but  a  habita- 
tion to  which  he  has  learned  continually  to  resort ; 
not  a  temporary  shelter,  but  a  stronghold,  where  he 
dwelleth,  and  where  he  loves  to  dwell.  "  For  this," 
says  the  Psalmist,  "  shall  every  one  pray  unto  thee,  in 
a  time  when  thou  may  est  be  found ;  surely  in  the 
floods  of  great  waters  they  shall  not  come  nigh  unto 
him :  thou  art  my  hiding-place." 

Here  is  a  refuge  to  which  faith  actually  resorts 
in  every  trouble.  The  heart  knoweth  its  own  bit- 
terness ;  and  sometimes  the  keenest  arrow  is  rank- 
ling just  where   the    stranger  intermeddleth  not 


god's  goodness.  125 

Many  are  the  afflictions  of  tlie  righteous :  some  of 
the  sorest  are  not  catalogued  in  books,  or  rehearsed 
in  sermons.  Sometimes  single  darts  wound  here  and 
there :  and  then  again,  whole  communities  suffer. 
One  disaster  in  war,  or  on  the  ocean,  directs  the 
river  of  sorrow  into  a  thousand  homes.  The  falling 
of  a  hoary  head,^ — that  crown  of  glory,  if  it  is  the 
head  of  a  believer,  a  friend,  an  example,  a  father,  a 
pastor, — carries  down  with  it  the  sorrowing  hearts 
of  a  church,  or  indeed,  as  we  have  felt  this  week,  of 
a  whole  Christian  population.  When  it  was  whis- 
pered from  one  to  another  in  our  city,  that  a  be- 
loved father  in  the  gospel  had  been  translated  in 
the  night,  who  was  there  that  did  not  feel  that  it 
was  a  bereavement,  and  that  the  loss  was  a  loss  of 
the  Christian  society  ?* 

Such  will  be  the  case  with  all  of  us,  in  our  seve- 
ral afflictions,  if  our  faith  resorts  to  God  as  a  refuge. 
It  is  this,  far  more  than  exemption  from  trials,  which 
makes  life  blessed.  Perhaps  you  have  been  tempt- 
ed to  say,  Blessed  are  the  prosperous,  the  rich,  the 
nnhumbled !  No.  Asaph  had  some  such  thoughts ; 
but  when  he  went  into  the  sanctuary,  and  took  a 
heavenly  view,  he  descried  the  end  of  the  wicked. 
It  was  one  who  knew,  that  said.  Blessed  are  they 
that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  comforted.  Happy 
lare  they  only,  who  have  sorrow  sweetened  by  the 
divine  promise.  They  glory  in  tribulation.  They 
have  storms,  but  they  have  both  an  anchor  and  a 
haven.     Goodness  cannot  be  manifested  more  clear- 

♦  This  was  penned  just  after  the  death  of  an  eminent  clergyman. 


126  CONSOLATION. 

ly  than  in  a  sanctifying  process,  however  severe.  Let 
me  thus  reason  with  such  as  are  in  trials.  We  have 
asked  to  be  made  holy.  Again  and  again  we  have 
besought  the  Lord  to  withdraw  us  from  evil  ways,  to 
divorce  us  from  the  rivals  which  seduce  us  ;  and  now 
we  hear  him  saying,  "  I  will  hedge  up  thy  way  with 
thorns,  and  make  a  wall,  that  she  shall  not  find  her 
paths :  and  she  shall  follow  after  lovers,  but  shall 
not  overtake  them ;  and  she  shall  seek  them,  but 
shall  not  find  them :  then  shall  she  say,  I  will  go 
and  return  to  my  first  husband,  for  then  was  it  bet- 
ter with  me  than  now."  And,  so  saying,  the  soul 
recognizes  the  goodness  of  God,  and  faith  enters  the 
stronghold.  There  are  thoughts  in  the  darkened 
chamber  of  sorrow  which  visit  us  nowhere  else ; — 
important,  salutary  thoughts,  to  instruct,  confirm, 
purify,  arm,  and  comfort;  thoughts  of  our  sin,  our 
selfishness,  our  idolatry,  our  worldliness,  our  unbe- 
lief;  thoughts  of  the  abiding  joy  laid  up  in  heaven, 
where  sickness,  alarm,  despair,  and  sin  never  come. 
And  I  speak  the  mind  of  all  sanctified  affliction, 
when  I  add,  that  among  them  all,  no  thought  is 
more  constant  than  that  of  God's  goodness  as  an 
eternal  refuge.  "  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect 
peace,  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee,  because  he 
trusteth  in  thee.  Trust  ye  in  the  Lord  for  ever,  for 
in  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  everlasting  strength." 

1.  How  admirable  and  lovely  is  that  religion 
which  makes  such  provision  for  times  of  trial !  And 
the  provision  is  God.  We  are  told,  not  that  a  refuge 
or  fortress  is  found  in  this  or  that  consideration,  but 


gob's  goodness.  127 

that  tlie  name  of  tlie  Lord  is  a  strong  tower.  Ee- 
ligion  derives  all  its  graces  and  all  its  glories  from 
its  principal  object.  If  tlie  believer  is  to  rejoice,  it 
IS  in  God.  The  course  of  our  experience  shows  us, 
that  every  reliance  sinks  away  from  under  us,  and 
nothing  sublunary  can  be  our  support.  Youth,  and 
prime,  and  strength  soon  decay.  Health  is  one  of 
the  most  precarious  and  perishable  of  our  brief  pos- 
sessions. Wealth — I  will  not  condescend  to  name 
it,  as  a  solace  in  heart-trouble.  Friends — they  are 
blessed  gifts ;  let  us  ever  thank  God  for  them,  dis- 
charge our  duty  to  them,  and  dwell  in  love  amongst 
them :  but  their  arm  reaches  but  a  little  way ;  ofteu 
the  most  that  they  can  do  is  to  weep  with  us ;  and 
ah !  how  soon,  how  rapidly  do  they  depart !  Till 
at  length  the  aged  disciple  looks  around  to  wonder  at 
his  own  solitude ;  and  if  he  sees  near  him  so  much 
as  one  of  the  companions  of  his  youth,  is  ready  to 
ti'emble  at  the  prospect  of  speedy  separation.  Ex- 
perience, I  say,  shows  us,  sooner  or  later,  that  there 
is  no  resting  short  of  God.  Tread  on  any  ground 
but  this,  and  it  proves  a  quicksand.  But  oh,  how 
rich  is  the  possession  of  God's  saints  !  The  mighty 
God  of  Jacob  is  their  refuge,  and  underneath  them 
are  the  everlasting  arms  !  I  will  never,  I  will  never, 
I  will  never,  never,  never,  never — such  is  the  redu- 
plication of  the  text — leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee. 
Here  is  a  heavenly  tower  of  vast  dimensions,  every 
chamber  filled  with  bounty^  and  t  very  gate  standing 
wide  open.     As  the  magistracy  of  Israel  was  com 


128  CONSOLATION. 

manded  to  see  that  tlie  liigliways  to  the  cities  of 
refuge  were  kept  in  good  repair,  so  that  the  fleeing 
culprits  might  meet  with  no  obstruction,  so  it  is  a 
chief  duty  of  the  gospel  ministry  to  facilitate  the 
flight  of  all  afflicted  persons  to  the  tower  of  strength 
and  consolation.  O  that  I  were  able  to  recount  and  to 
describe  the  numerous  instances  in  which  I  have  seen 
the  heart-broken  child  of  God  taking  courage  amidst 
redoubled  calamities,  in  the  attributes  of  a  recon- 
ciled God  !  This  were  enough — if  there  were  noth- 
ing else — to  recommend  the  Christian  religion  to  all 
who  suffer  pain,  fear,  or  bereavement.  And  hence, 
indeed,  we  observe,  that  the  followers  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  consist  in  a  great  degree  of  those  who  have 
been  drawn  to  him  by  the  necessities  of  deep  afflic- 
tion. 

2.  How  serious  is  the  question.  Am  I  acquainted 
with  God  as  a  strong  tower  in  •the  time  of  danger  ? 
It  is  not  every  one  who  possesses  this  resort — or 
who  knows  the  way  to  it.  As  has  been  intimated, 
the  flying  of  the  soul  to  God,  in  times  of  trouble, 
presupposes  some  knowledge  of  him,  reconcihation 
with  him,  and  trust  in  him.  The  calamities  of  life 
are  such  indeed,  and  come  with  poignant  sting  to 
those  who  have  no  God.  The  bolt  falls  with  almost 
crushing  violence,  on  the  man  who  is  at  ease  in  his 
possessions,  and  who  cries  in  vain  to  his  god  of  silver 
and  of  gold.  Beloved  reader,  be  persuaded  to  re- 
member your  Creator,  before  the  evil  days  come. 
Hearken  to  the  voice  of  all  experience,  and  believe 


god's  goodness.  129 

that  you  will  bitterly  regret  your  impenitence  and 
procrastination,  wlien  sudden  affliction  comes  upon 
you.  You  cannot  possibly  make  a  better  use  of 
tliese  halcyon  days  of  youth,  of  health  and  of  ease, 
than  by  providing  for  the  dark  and  cloudy  season. 
God  is  graciously  ready  to  welcome  him  who  turns  to 
him,  even  in  the  hour  of  his  desolation,  and,  like  the 
prodigal,  cries,  "  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father :" 
but  more  pleasing  is  it  to  God,  and  more  profitable 
to  the  soul,  when  one  amidst  the  sunshine  of  hope 
and  prosperity,  looks  up  and  says,  "Father,  thou 
art  the  Guide  of  my  youth  ! "  Nothing  is  more 
certain,  than  that  the  days  are  hastening  on,  in 
which  you  will  find  these  to  be  true  sayings. 
Therefore,  be  exhorted,  without  delay,  to  flee  into 
this  everlasting  tower,  that  you  may  be  safe ; — 
safe  not  merely  from  the  clouds  of  worldly  sorrow, 
but  from  the  insufferable  tempest  of  God's  wrath 
and  curse ! 

3.  It  only  remains  that  I  should  beseech  those 
who  are  sufferers  at  this  time,  actually  and  imme- 
diately to  betake  themselves  to  this  refuge.  Behold 
the  Rock  of  your  Defence  !  Behold  in  every  several 
attribute  a  chamber  of  protection !  Call  to  mind 
the  lessons  of  your  whole  Christian  life,  with  regard 
to  the  Truth,  the  Justice,  and  the  Goodness  of  God. 
Even  under  the  Old  Testament,  amidst  many  imper- 
fections of  knowledge,  God's  people  learned  to  con- 
fide in  him,  under  the  heaviest  strokes.  Abram, 
Jacob,  Eli,  Job,  David,  Ezekiel,  Habakkuk,  have 
9 


130  CONSOLATION. 

left  us  their  testimonial.  So  clear  was  this,  that 
even  the  modern  Jew,  in  his  wanderings  has  lessons 
of  resignation,  which  are  unknown  to  the  pagan  phi- 
losopher. "  During  the  absence  of  the  Rabbi  Meir, 
his  two  sons  died  —  both  of  them  of  uncommon 
beauty,  and  enlightened  in  the  divine  law.  His 
wife  bore  them  to  her  chamber,  and  laid  them  upon 
her  bed.  When  Kabbi  Meir  returned,  his  first  in- 
quiry was  for  his  sons.  His  wife  reached  to  him 
a  goblet ;  he  praised  the  Lord  at  the  going  out  of 
the  Sabbath,  drank,  and  again  asked,  ^  Where  are 
my  sons  V  '  They  are  not  far  off,'  she  said,  placing 
food  before  him  that  he  might  eat.  He  was  in  a 
genial  mood,  and  when  he  had  said  grace  after  meat, 
she  thus  addressed  him :  '  Rabbi,  with  thy  permis- 
sion, I  would  fain  propose  to  thee  one  question.' 
*  Ask  it  then,  my  love,'  replied  he.  '  A  few  days  ago 
a  person  intrusted  some  jewels  to  my  custody,  and 
now  he  demands  them.  Should  I  give  them  back 
to  him  V  '  This  is  a  question,'  said  the  Eabbi, 
*"  which  my  wife  should  not  have  thought  it  neces* 
sary  to  ask.  What !  wouldest  thou  hesitate  or  be 
reluctant  to  restore  to  every  one  his  own  V  '  No,' 
she  replied,  ^  but  yet  I  thought  it  best  not  to  restore 
them  without  acquainting  thee  therewith.'  She 
then  led  him  to  the  chamber,  and  stepping  to  the 
bed,  took  the  white  covering  from  the  dead  bodies. 
^Ah!  my  sons,  my  sons,'  loudly  lamented  their 
father ;  '  my  sons  !  the  light  of  my  eyes  and  the 
light  of  my  understanding :  I  was  your  father — but 


god's  goodness.  131 

you  were  my  teachers  in  the  law.'  The  mother 
turned  away  and  wept  bitterly.  At  length  she  took 
her  husband  by  the  hand  and  said,  ^  Rabbi,  didst 
thou  not  teach  me  that  we  must  not  be  reluctant  to 
restore  that  which  was  intrusted  to  our  keeping? 
See,  ^  the  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away, 
and  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.'  '  Blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord,'  echoed  the  Rabbi,  '  and 
blessed  be  his  holy  name  for  ever.' "  But  all  Old 
Testament  resignations  and  hopes  are  but  a  morn- 
ing twilight,  compared  with  the  meridian  faith  of 
the  Gospel.  Now,  we  behold  in  Jesus,  not  only  a 
Master  and  a  Comforter,  but  a  fellow-sufferer,  a 
forerunner,  a  sympathizing  High  Priest.  By  him, 
as  a  medium,  we  approach  our  fortress ;  for  he  is 
the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.  Not  even  sin  can 
keep  us  away ;  for  he  has  borne  our  sins  in  his  own 
body  on  the  tree.  Come  then,  and  drown  your 
griefs  in  the  sea  of  everlasting  love !  A  little 
longer,  and  you  shall  be  admitted  to  a  nearer  view 
of  those  divine  excellences,  which,  even  in  distant 
prospect,  have  sustained  your  head  amidst  the  bil- 
lows. And,  then,  when  fully  entered  into  youi 
eternal  fortress,  how  speedily  shall  you  forget  all 
the  trials  of  the  pilgrimage  !  My  beloved  brethren, 
what  we  need,  in  order  to  support  our  fainting  souls, 
is  only  a  larger  measure  of  that  faith,  which  is  the 
substance  of  things  hoped  for,  and  the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen ;  which  shall  make  the  coming  eter- 
nity as  real  to  us,  as  the  events  of  the  passing  life ; 


132  CONSOLATION. 

which  shall  turn  our  doctrines  and  tenets  respect- 
ing God  and  heaven,  into  heart-experience,  and 
actuating  motive.  Then  shall  we  abide  in  God,  as 
in  our  tower ;  then  shall  we  be  encircled  in  his 
pavilion.  Then  shall  we  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  for  ever. 


THE  SOUL  SUSTAINED  BY  HOPE  EISINQ 
TO  ASSUKANOE. 


YI 


IT  is  a  very  serious  and  interesting  question,  wheth- 
er a  believer  may  in  this  life  attain  to  an  infalli- 
ble certainty  of  his  ultimate  salvation.  Nor  is  the 
problem  a  new  one.  The  times  of  the  Reformation, 
three  hundred  years  ago,  were  much  occupied  with 
this  very  inquiry.  The  finding  of  the  genuine  gos- 
pel among  the  old  ruins  of  superstitious  ceremonial 
and  semipelagian  dogmas,  shed  such  a  sunshine  over 
the  Christian  world,  that  there  were  multitudes 
whose  hope  was  so  exalted  as  to  expel  all  doubt. 
This  was  consolation  indeed ;  for  such  a  certainty  of 
bhss  was  peculiarly  suitable  in  a  day  when  it  was 
needful  to  suffer  for  Christ,  and  when  martyrdoms 
began  to  reappear  in  the  church.  The  reformers, 
one  and  all,  testified  that  a  man  might  be  assured  of 
his  eventual  salvation. 

But  this  doctrine  found  many  adversaries.  It 
comported  well  with  the  denial  of  final  persever- 
ance, to  deny  this.  The  same  persons  were  the  op- 
ponents of  both.  In  the  first  place,  the  Papists  ad- 
mitted no  certainty  concerning  one's  being  in  a  state 
of  grace,  beyond  what  was  conjectural.  They  even 
maintained  that  such  a  certainty  was  not  desirable. 


136  CONSOLATIOi^. 

and  tliat  it  tended  to  relaxation  of  morals.  It  would 
have  been  more  candid,  if  they  had  maintained  that 
it  tended  to  relaxation  of  the  priestly  tie,  and  dimi- 
nution of  the  papal  majesty.  For  he  who  is  assured 
of  God's  love,  and  hears  his  remission  from  his  judge, 
will  feel  little  concern  about  human  absolution. 
Here  is  a  death-blow  to  masses  for  the  soul's  health, 
supererogatory  merits  of  saints  laid  up  in  store  for 
the  behoof  of  sinners,  vows,  pilgrimages,  humilia- 
tions, indulgences,  and  universal  monkery.  There 
is  no  need  of  these  to  one  who  has  the  peace  of  God 
shed  abroad  in  the  heart. 

There  were  other  adversaries  of  triumphant 
grace,  and  they  set  themselves  to  deny  assurance. 
The  old  Arminians  (in  this  differing  very  much  from 
the  modern  Wesleyans)  united  in  holding  that  it 
was  neither  laudable  nor  useful  to  be  placed  above 
doubt.  They  admitted  a  conjectural  certainty,  or  a 
conditional  certainty,  but  none  that  was  real.  For 
how  can  they  who  admit  the  danger  of  falling  from 
a  state  of  grace  have  any  assurance  for  eternity? 
They  may  fall  away  to-morrow.  They  may  fall 
away  under  the  next  temptation.  They  may  make 
shipwreck  in  the  very  haven,  and  lose  Christ  after 
they  have  become  speechless  in  death. 

It  suited  well  with  a  slavish  and  legal  system  to 
deny  the  possibility  of  assurance.  Having  no  know- 
ledge of  a  method  of  gi^ace,  and  the  ingenuous,  grate- 
ful, willing  service  which  is  rendered  by  a  renewed 
soul,  they  dreaded  ever  to  let  the  convinced  come 
from  under  this  yoke  of  bondage.    They  were  sure 


ASURANCE.  137 

that  the  moment  he  was  sure  of  escape  from  hell, 
he  would  disobey  ;  that  there  could  be  no  Christian- 
ity, save  under  the  lash.  The  effect  of  such  a  scheme 
is  apparent,  to  a  melancholy  degree,  in  the  character 
of  many  estimable,  and  of  some  great  men.  A  re- 
markable instance  is  that  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  John- 
son. It  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  a  more 
gloomy  record  of  experience,  than  that  which  is  con- 
tained in  his  religious  meditations  and  diary.  These 
extend  through  a  period  of  forty-six  years.  They 
are  solemn,  affecting,  and  undoubtedly  sincere.  But 
they  lack  one  thing,  and  that  all-important,  namely 
the  idea  of  free  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ.  Dr. 
Johnson  had  learned  that  all  assurance  was  enthusi- 
asm. He  knew  no  motive  but  fear.  He  is  perpetu- 
ally lamenting  over  sin,  but  never  cherishing  a  sense 
of  pardon.  Almost  until  his  latest  hours,  he  was  in 
bondage  through  fear  of  death.  He  never  willingly 
allowed  conversation  in  his  presence  to  turn  on  this 
painful  subject,  and  sometimes  repressed  it  with  his 
characteristic  and  boisterous  indignation.  Now  how 
far  did  this  absence  of  that  assurance  (which  he  so 
strenuously  denied  to  be  possible)  tend  to  the  devel- 
opment of  Christian  character  ?  Let  us  read,  amidst 
his  lamentations  over  lost  time,  and  his  petty  fasts 
and  austerities,  the  record  on  his  fifty-sixth  birth-day, 
Sept.  18,  1^64.  "  I  have  now  spent  fifty-five  years 
in  resolving,  having  from  the  earliest  time  almost 
that  I  can  remember,  been  forming  schemes  of  a 
better  life.  I  have  done  nothing."  It  is  pleasing  to 
find  reason  for  believing,  that  in  the  close  of  life,  Dr 


138  CONSOLATION. 

Johnson  opened  his  mind  to  some  more  gracious  views 
of  the  plan  of  salvation.  His  error  with  regard  to 
the  certainty  of  final  glory,  is  the  error  of  thousands, 
who  maintain  the  same  scheme  of  partial  grace. 

In  opposition  to  all  this,  the  doctrine  of  the  Re- 
formed Theologians  has  uniformly  been,  that  there 
is  an  assurance  of  God's  love,  which  may  be  attained 
in  the  present  life :  and  it  is  the  nature  of  this  as- 
surance which  we  shall  now  in  the  first  place  con- 
sider. 

The  word  rendered  fulhassurance^  is  one  of 
striking  import.  It  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  ful- 
ness, such  as  of  a  tree  laden  with  fruit,  or  of  a  ves- 
sel's sails  when  stretched  by  a  favouring  gale.  It  is 
unwavering  conviction,  persuasion  which  defies  all 
doubt,  and  expectation  rising  to  certainty.  And  it 
stands  distinguished  from  a  conviction  and  persua- 
sion of  any  or  all  the  propositions  of  revealed  truth, 
as  involving  an  application  of  that  truth  to  our  own 
proper  case.  The  former  is  called  the  assurance  of 
faith;  the  latter  (of  which  we  are  ti eating),  the 
assurance  of  hope^  and  sometimes  the  full  assurance 
of  hope.  Heb.  6:11.  As  faith  unfolds  into  hope,  so 
the  assurance  or  highest  measure  of  faith  into  the 
assurance  or  highest  measure  of  hope.  They  there- 
fore often  coexist ;  yet  they  are  distinguishable. 
The  assurance  of  faith  is  the  acme  of  unwavering 
and  undoubting  confidence  that  the  revealed  propo- 
sitions are  the  very  truth  of  God  ; — a  persuasion  so 
firm,  as  to  be  the  basis  and  resting-place  of  all  Chris- 
tian rehance.    It  is  saving  faith  carried  to  its  height. 


ASSUEANCE.  139 

It  sees  Christ,  and  believes  in  him.  The  Assurance  ot 
Hope  is  a  settled,  unshaken,  well-grounded,  immova- 
ble persuasion  and  certainty,  that  I,  as  an  individual, 
have  thus  believed ;  that  I  am  in  Christ ;  that  God  is 
my  reconciled  Father ;  that  I  shall  never  come  into  con- 
demnation ;  and  that  my  heaven  is  secure.  The  former 
is  a  universal  duty ;  the  latter  is  a  gracious  privi- 
lege. One  is  possessed  by  eveiy  believer  ;  the  other 
is  a  sovereign  gift  to  a  part  of  the  flock.  By  one, 
I  believe  that  God  is  true  ;  by  the  other,  that  he  is 
my  God.  By  the  one,  I  see  Christ  to  be  an  almighty 
and  a  willing  Saviour ;  by  the  other  I  am  assured 
that  he  will  save  me  in  particular.  By  one,  I  lean 
on  Christ  as  my  only  and  all-sufficient  supporter  ;  by 
the  other,  I  am  made  certain  that  I  have  actually 
done  so,  and  hope  without  wavering  that  I  shall  eter- 
nally rejoice  in  him  One  is  opposed  to  unbelief,  the 
other  to  despondency.  One  connects  with  Christ ; 
the  other  reveals  the  connection.  They  stand  to 
one  another  as  the  blossom  to  the  fruit ;  or  as  the 
deed  to  the  possession  ;  or  as  the  sentence  of  acquit- 
tal, to  enlargement  from  restraint.  One  may  coex- 
ist with  many  fears ;  the  other  casteth  out  all  fear. 
"  The  work  of  righteousness  shall  be  peace,  and  the 
effect  of  righteousness,  quietness,  and  assurance  for 
ever."  "Whether  saving  faith,  by  its  essential  quali- 
ty, would  not  necessarily  result  in  assured  hope,  pro- 
vided such  faith  were  only  great  enough  in  degree, 
is  a  question  which  would  lead  us  into  niceties  of 
disquisition,  which  at  the  present  time  we  may  pro- 
fitably wave.     That  the  two  have  a  perceptible  dif- 


140  CONSOLATION. 

ference,  must  appear  from  wliat  lias  been  said ;  and 
we  are  thus  far  enabled  to  gain  some  glimpse  of  the 
nature  of  full  assurance.  But  we  may  look  still 
more  nearly  at  the  subject,  in  a  series  of  particulars. 

1.  This  state  of  mind  is  peculiar  to  true  believ- 
ers. It  is  possessed  by  no  others.  There  are,  in- 
deed, powerful  persuasions  in  the  minds  of  some ; — 
presumptions  which  may  outlive  the  pang  of  dying, 
and  knock  at  the  very  gate  of  heaven,  and  be  re- 
pulsed only  by  the  Master's  word,  I  never  hnew  you. 
There  are  counterfeits  of  all  that  is  precious ;  and 
Satan  is  the  grand  artificer  of  simulated  good ;  and 
herein  is  one  of  his  chief  devices ;  and  enthusiasm 
may  show  elations  and  raptures  more  heady,  vocif- 
erous and  boastful  than  humble  faith.  But  the  hol- 
lowness  and  falsity  of  such  impressions  must  not  be 
allowed  to  accomplish  Satan's  purpose,  of  cheating 
us  into  the  opinion  that  there  is  no  genuine  assur- 
ance. God  is  able,  .not  only  to  renew  a  soul,  but  to 
give  an  infallible  persuasion  that  it  is  renewed. 

2.  The  assurance  which  we  are  inquiring  for,  is 
not  a  supernatural  revelation  of  new  truth.  Inspira- 
tion can  unquestionably  thus  communicate  ;  but  in 
the  wise  and  wonderful  economy  of  grace,  inspira- 
tion has  ceased.  Here  it  is  that  enthusiasts  and 
fanatics  have  gone  astray.  They  have  shut  out  all 
exercise  of  reason  in  this  matter,  all  examination  of 
evidences,  and  sometimes  all  grounds  of  Scripture ; 
and  have  relied  on  visions,  trances,  dreams,  voices, 
and  bare  impressions.  Nothing  is  more  immovable 
than  their  convictions.      Argument  is  vain :    that 


ASSURANCE.  141 

which  came  in  without  reason,  cannot  be  driven  out 
by  reason.  They  are  a  Scripture  unto  themselves 
In  vain  do  you  ask  their  evidences.  They  know 
because  they  know.  And  it  is  important  to  say 
thus  much  upon  this  delusion,  lest  any  should  mis- 
take the  path  to  real  gospel  comfort,  and  seek  it  as 
a  direct,  special,  immediate,  heavenly  manifestation, 
unconnected  with  the  general  exaltation  of  the  life 
of  God  in  the  soul.  True  assurance  is  after  all  found- 
ed on  the  recorded  Word. 

3.  The  Assurance  of  Hope  rests  on  the  promises 
of  God.  It  is  allied  to  faith ;  nay,  it  grows  out  of 
faith.  Where  there  is  no  faith,  it  cannot  exist ;  and 
it  increases  with  the  increase  of  faith.  It  results 
from  a  firm,  unshaken  trust  in  God's  gracious  declara- 
tions. To  see  ourselves  accepted,  we  must  previous- 
ly "  see  the  things  that  are  freely  given  us  of  God." 
As  it  is  the  open  view  of  gospel  promises  of  free 
salvation  through  ^esus  Christ,  which  first  brings  us 
into  vital  union  with  our  Redeemer,  so  it  is  the  fur- 
ther application  of  the  same  promises  to  our  own 
case,  the  seeing  of  ourselves  as  included  in  them, 
wtich  gives  us  the  joy  of  assurance. 

4.  The  assurance  that  we  are  in  the  favour  of 
God,  is  connected  with  the  existence  of  Christian 
evidences  in  our  hearts.  It  is  to  a  certain  extent 
founded  on  these.  There  are  some  who,  in  their 
xeal  for  grace,  and  for  the  efficacy  of  faith,  go  so  far 
as  to  discard  all  examination  of  evidences,  as  legal. 
They  declare,  that  all  true  gospel-comfort  is  to  be 
obtained  by  a  simple  looking  at  the  word  of  prom 


142  CONSOLATION. 

ise,  and  a  bare,  undoubting  faith,  without  any  reflex 
consideration  of  what  Christ  has  wrought  in  us. 
Now  I  trust  that  the  tenor  of  this  whole  volume 
is  such  as  makes  it  superfluous  to  say,  that  I  attri- 
bute all  faith  to  the  word  of  promise,  and  all 
justification  to  faith ;  yea,  that  it  is  this  simple, 
direct,  instant  faith,  to  which  I  would  vehemently 
exhort  every  unconverted  sinner.  This  is  what 
a  sinner  must  do,  to  be  saved;  and  what  a  saint 
must  do,  to  abide  in  Christ.  But  it  is  a  very  dis- 
tinct matter,  when  the  question  is,  "  By  what 
means  shall  a  soul  know  that  it  is  born  of  God  ?" 
It  is  a  new  case,  when  the  anxious  inquiry  is  suggest- 
ed, "  How  shall  I  ascertain  that  this  experience,  of 
which  I  am  conscious,  and  which  I  call  faith,  is  the 
very  faith  of  God's  elect  ?"  And  it  is  no  derogation 
from  the  justifying  and  saving  power  of  naked  faith, 
to  agitate  the  inquiry,  "  May  I  employ  the  fruits  of 
holiness  within  me,  to  confirm  niy  persuasion  that  I 
am  born  of  God  ?"  It  is  agreed  on  all  hands,  that 
faith  is  the  beginning  of  a  transformation  in  the 
soul ;  a  series  of  new  principles,  habits,  and  actions ; 
that  this  work  is  wrought  only  in  God's  people ;  only 
by  a  divine  influence ;  and  that  certain  virtues, 
graces,  or  states  and  acts  of  the  soul,  are  denomi- 
nated the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  These  things,  I  say, 
we  are  agreed  in.  It  is  as  undeniable,  that  results 
of  this  kind  are  patent  and  palpable,  within  human 
cognizance,  subject  to  our  consciousness,  and  suscep- 
tible of  comparison  with  the  Word  of  God.  No 
one  will  refuse  to  admit,  that  the  presence  of  these 


ASSURANCE.  I   U  ?ir  >   l^Sy,, ^ 

graces  is  detflonstrative  of  regeneratiou.  He  who-^S 
has  these  fruits,  has  the  Spirit,  is  born  of  &od,  ia  ^  \rT 
new  creature.  Now  is  any  one  hardy  enough  to  de^.,-^.. 
clare,  that  while  the  presence  of  such  exercises  is 
conclusive  evidence  of  a  gracious  state,  the  believer 
is  not  suffered  to  look  at  them  ?  Must  his  eyes  be 
bandaged  in  regard  to  that  which  affords  conviction 
of  his  being  saved ;  that,  moreover,  which  is  always 
with  him,  in  his  own  bosom,  a  part  of  himself?  Yet 
this  extreme  position  must  be  maintained  by  those — 
and  such  there  are — who  deny  the  value  of  gracious 
evidences,  in  regard  to  our  estimate  of  our  own  re- 
lation to  the  covenant.  That  this  is  not  the  ground 
of  justification,  we  all  admit.  That  this  is  not  the 
sole  ground  of  assurance,  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 
That  the  search  among  experiences  may  be  carried 
too  far,  so  as  to  produce  despondency,  and  so  as  to 
supplant  direct  acts  of  faith  by  those  which  are  re- 
flex, is  freely  acknowledged.  Nevertheless,  we  must 
maintain,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  and  does  em- 
ploy those  graces  of  which  he  is  the  author,  as  the 
marks  of  his  own  work,  and  thus  as  means  of  assur- 
ance. 

This  appears  to  be  expressly  stated  in  not  a  few 
passages  of  Scripture.  Thus  the  presence  of  the 
spiritual  influence  is  a  mark  of  being  in  Christ.  1 
John  4  :  13,  "Herebjfwe  know  that  we  dwell  in 
him,  because  he  hath  given  us  of  his  Spirit."  The 
effectual  leading  of  the  same  Spirit  is  a  mark  of 
grace.  "  As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,, 
they   are  the    sons   of    God."      The    existence   of 


144  ^  CONSOLATION. 

brotherly  love  and  obedience  is  a  like  testinao 
nial :  "  We  know  tbat  we  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.  Let  us 
not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed 
and  in  truth.  And  hereby  we  know  that  we  are 
of  the  truth,  and  shall  assure  our  hearts  before 
him.  Beloved,  if  our  hearts  condemn  us  not,  then 
have  we  confidence  towards  God.  And  he  that 
keepeth  his  commandments  dwelleth  in  him  and 
he  in  him." 

"We  must  despair  of  establishing  any  point  by 
Scripture  citation,  if  these  passages  do  not  prove 
that  the  examination  of  the  heart  and  life  is  a 
legitimate  method  of  arriving  at  serene  and  satis- 
factory views  of  our  own  state.  And  I  should  not 
have  spent  a  word  on  the  opposite  opinion,  if  it 
were  not  a  morbid  growth  from  a  genuine  branch 
of  Christian  doctrine — an  abuse  of  the  precious 
truth,  that  in  seeking  justification,  the  eye  of  the 
soul  should  be  directly  fixed  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

5.  It  might  be  naturally  inferred,  from  what  has 
been  said,  that  the  full  assurance  of  hope  is  the  ac- 
companiment of  elevated  piety.  If  graces  are  evi- 
dences of  a  renewed  state,  then  where  there  is 
little  grace,  there  can  be  little  evidence.  Where 
the  divine  work  in  the  soul  is  faint,  the  evidences 
must  be  obscure.  It  would  contradict  the  whole 
economy  of  holiness,  if  high  joys  and  triumphs  of 
assured  love  were  granted  to  lukewarm  and  grovel- 
ling religion.     The  exaltation  of  divine  exercises  in 


ASSURANCE.  146 

the  soul  is,  therefore,  the  brightening  of  evidence. 
And  we  have  little  cause  to  wonder  that  we  have 
so  little  assurance,  when  we  look  within,  and  dis- 
cover that  we  have  little  faith,  little  love,  and  little 
self-denial.  We  are  prepared,  therefore,  to  expect 
that  in  producing  assurance  of  God's  love,  it  will  be  a 
part  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  work  to  exalt  the  piety  of  the 
heart ;  to  lift  up  the  graces  so  as  to  bring  them  into 
view ;  to  kindle  the  affections  to  a  visible  and  palpa- 
ble glow ;  and  so  to  multiply  the  fruits  of  holiness, 
that  old  things  may  pass  away,  all  things  become 
new,  and  every  habit  and  act  afford  a  testimony  of 
the  new  creature.  This  is  in  truth  a  part  of  sanc- 
lification.  By  making  us  more  holy,  God  makes  us 
more  assured.  Our  religion  becomes  more  profound, 
more  vital,  more  energetic,  and  so  more  undeniable. 
The  doubts  we  now  have  would  be  speedily  dis- 
persed, if  we  were  rapt  in  the  transport  of  heavenly 
emotions.  A  stronger  faith  would  carry  us  away,  as 
on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  towards  the  object  of  our 
soul.  A  coal  from  the  altar,  brought  to  our  lips  by 
seraphic  hands,  would  purge  our  iniquity,  and  en- 
kindle our  hopes.  The  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
therefore,  in  awakening,  and  multiplying,  and  deep- 
ening Christian  exercises,  tends  directly  to  create 
just  so  many  evidences  of  the  new  nature,  and  to 
give  assurance  of  God's  love.  Increase  of  grace 
brings  increase  of  security ;  and  thus  the  danger  of 
licentious  presumption  is  avoided. 

6.  But  is  there  not,  over  and  above  this,  a  dis- 
tinct and  direct  influence  from  on  high,  promoting 
10 


146  CONSOLATION 

the  assurance  tliat  we  belong  to  Christ?  We  re- 
joice to  think  there  is.  It  is  possible  to  conceive  of  a 
high  state  of  gracious  affections,  without  any  reflex 
acts,  that  is,  without  these  affections  being  used 
by  the  individual  as  tokens  of  his  acceptance.  In 
his  character  as  Paraclete  or  Comforter,  the  ador- 
able Spirit  has  been  pleased  to  pour  joys  directly 
into  the  soul :  not  independently  of  experience,  but 
over  and  above  it,  giving  hope ;  "  for  patience  work- 
eth  experience,  and  experience  hope,  that  maketh 
not  ashamed,  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad 
in  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  unto  us." 
The  witness  of  our  own  consciousness  of  change  is 
something;  but  here  is  a  greater  and  a  better 
witness.  "The  Spmt  beareth  witness  with  our 
spirits,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God."  It  is  a 
heavenly  seal  until  the  day  of  redemption.  It  is  a 
heavenly  earnest  of  the  future  possession.  It  may 
sometimes  operate  upon  the  mind  to  quicken  its  facul- 
ties, so  as  to  discern  the  correspondence  between  the 
experience  and  the  word.  But  inasmuch  as  all 
grace  is  from  a  divine  agency,  I  see  no  reason  why 
we  may  not  admit  an  immediate  operation  on  the 
soul  itself,  producing  this  persuasion  as  its  imme- 
diate result,  and  overflowing  the  heart  with  a  sense 
of  heavenly  love.  In  whatever  way  this  result  is 
attained,  it  is  to  be  firmly  held  that  it  proceeds  from 
the  Author  of  all  good,  and  is  accompanied  with  the 
higher  exercises  of  piety. 

iT.  This  consideration,  that  the  assurance  of  God's 
love  stands  among  a  cluster  of  holy  gifts,  and  that  it 


ASSURANCE.  14^ 

bears  some  proportion  to  the  degree  of  holiness  in 
the  sonl,  effectually  shuts  the  door  against  one  great 
objection.  If  assurance  is  the  fruit  of  holiness,  then 
licentious,  carnal  ease  is  something  spurious.  Some 
may  urge  that  a  great  motive  to  exertion  is  removed, 
when  we  take  away  the  fear  of  eventual  shipwreck. 
God  may  use  fear,  even  servile  fear,  as  a  means  of 
stimulating  his  people;  but  this  is  not  his  usual 
manner.  There  is  a  keener  stimulus  than  the  fear 
of  falling:  it  is  the,  mingled  agency  of  faith,  and 
hope,  and  gratitude,  and  love.  He  who  is  surest  of 
the  crown,  will  not  be  the  first  to  trample  on  it. 
He  who  is  certain  of  meeting  Christ,  will  not  be 
most  ready  to  insult  and  grieve  him.  Paul  was 
never  more  prepared  for  labour  and  endurance,  than 
when  he  said :  ^'  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed ;" 
and  when  he  exulted,  "  I  am  persuaded  that  nothing 
shall  separate  me  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus." 

In  what  has  thus  far  been  said,  we  have  an- 
swered the  question,  as  to  the  nature  of  full  assur- 
ance, and  have  discovered  that  it  is  attainable. 
There  is  a  second  inquiry,  which  will  now  be  made 
easy,  so  as  not  to  detain  us  long.  It  is  this.  Is  as- 
surance of  personal  salvation  essential  to  saving 
faith?  Some  have  maintained  the  affirmative,  and 
have  taught  that  no  man  can  be  a  regenerate  per- 
son without  knowing  himself  to  be  such.  But  the 
negative  is  clearly  the  doctrine  of  Scripture.  Bear* 
ing  in  mind  the  distinction  already  suggested,  be* 
tween  the  assurance  of  faith  and  the  assurance  of 


148  CONSOLATION. 

hope,  you  will  readily  perceive  that  one  may  have  a 
justifying  faith  without  any  necessary  reference  to 
the  question,  whether  he  is  himself  regenerate  or 
not.  And  inasmuch  as  any  the  least  degree  of 
faith  is  justifying,  as  uniting  the  soul  to  Christ,  you 
will  as  readily  perceive  that  faith  may  apprehend 
Christ,  when  as  yet  it  falls  far  short  of  that  which 
produces  assured  hope. 

Some  truly  good  men,  making  their  own  lively 
experience  too  much  the  rule  and  criterion  for 
others,  have  taught  that  saving  faith  is  a  belief  that 
Christ  died  for  me  in  particular.  But  the  grave 
defect  of  this  hypothesis  is,  that  there  is  nothing 
like  it  in  the  Bible.  Indeed  the  highest  and  most 
seraphic  faith  may  be  so  absorbed  in  the  great  ob- 
ject, Jesus  Christ,  as  to  lose  all  regard  to  self,  or 
even  its  own  salvation.  Saving  faith  is  not  a  belief 
that  I  have  saving  faith,  but  a  belief  in  Christ  the 
Saviour,  and  a  receiving  of  him  as  offered  in  the 
Word ;  a  holding  of  the  recorded  offer  to  be  credi- 
ble; and  a  setting-to  the  seal  that  God  is  true 
The  dehghtful  inference,  that  I  am  a  saved  soul,  may 
be  true — may  follow  logically  from  the  truths  be- 
lieved, and  my  act  of  believing — may,  therefore, 
in  some  sort,  be  involved  in  the  proposition,  I  be- 
lieve ;  and  yet  it  is  no  part  of  that  faith  which  is 
saving.  The  Bible  nowhere  enjoins  it  as  such.  It 
is  a  happy  fruit  of  faith.  But  some  will  ask.  Can  so 
great  a  change  take  place  without  the  subject  being 
conscious  of  it  ?  We  answer,  no.  The  subject  is 
conscious ;  but  something  more  than  his  conscious- 


AS8UKAN0E.  149 

ness  is  needful  to  assure  him.  He  knows  there  is  a 
change,  but  is  it  the  change  ?  We  are  asked,  Can  it 
be  possible  for  a  prisoner  to  be  loosed  from  such  a 
bond  without  knowing  it  ?  We  answer,  Peter  was 
released  by  an  angel  from  prison,  "  and  went  out  and 
followed  him,  and  wist  not  that  it  was  true  which 
was  done  by  the  angel,  but  he  thought  he  saw  a 
vision."    So  it  may  be  with  the  emancipated  soul. 

The  Scripture  seems  to  teach  that  this  certainty 
of  renewal  may  follow  the  renewal  itself  Eph.  1 : 
13,  "In  whom  ye  also  trusted,  after  that  ye.  heard 
the  word  of  truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salvation ;  in 
whom  also,  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed 
with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the  earnest 
of  our  inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the  pur- 
chased  possession."  Here,  you  will  observe,  the 
sealing  is  separated  from  the  believing,  by  an  inter- 
val of  time.  If,  as  we  have  seen,  this  assurance  is 
connected  with  active  growing  graces,  as  evidence,  it 
is  natural  to  believe,  that  those  may  be  faint  and 
dim,  in  their  earliest  stage.  God  has  nowhere  given 
this  as  an  indispensable  criterion.  Let  us  not  offend 
against  weak  or  desponding  brethren,  by  making 
that  weakness  and  despondency  a  token  of  wrath. 
Let  us  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  by  decreeing, 
beyond  our  authority,  that  every  one  who  doubts  of 
his  salvation  is  the  enemy  of  God.  How  many  of 
Christ's  faithful  servants  would  be  cut  off,  by  such  a 
rule  ?  The  safer  opinion  is,  that  a  man  may  be  truly 
regenerate,  and  yet  have  doubts  in  regard  to  hia 
personal  acceptance. 


150  CONSOLATION. 

But  while  this  is  true,  it  is  not  less  true,  that  such 
a  state  of  doubt  is  a  most  undesirable  state.  It  is 
not  the  healthful  condition  of  the  soul ;  nor  the  con- 
dition in  which  pious  affections  are  most  in  exercise. 
It  is  a  valley  through  which  the  Christian  may- 
journey,  but  where  he  cannot  willingly  dwell.  He 
may  wait  long  for  this  dayspring  from  on  high  to 
visit  him :  yet  there  is  provision  made  for  his  enjoy- 
ing it ;  and  he  should  never  rest  without  it.  Surely 
it  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference,  whether  I  am  an 
enemy  or  a  child ;  whether,  if  I  die  to-day,  I  drop 
to  hell,  or  rise  to  glory !  If  it  be  possible  to  escape 
from  such  a  region  of  clouds  and  darkness,  it  should 
be  attempted ;  and-we  should  use  all  diligence  to  the 
full  assurance  of  hope :  it  is  the  desire  of  the  apostle 
and  the  precept  of  the  Word.     Heb.  6:11. 

It  is  so  signal  a  prize,  that  it  claims  the  intense 
and  concentrated  effort  of  every  power,  through  every 
moment — "  all  diligence."  By  what  means  it  should 
be  sought,  might  be  inferred  from  what  we  just  now 
learned,  as  to  the  way  in  which  this  assurance  rises 
in  the  heart.  It  is  the  fruit  of  faith.  Would  you 
have  assurance  ?  Be  sure  that  you  have  faith.  Is 
it  as  yet  too  weak  ?  Let  your  prayer  be,  "  Lord,  in- 
crease our  faith !"  LIow  is  faith  to  be  cultivated  ? 
Plainly  by  converse  with  the  object  of  faith ;  by  look- 
ing unto  Jesus ;  by  dwelling  more  on  him  than  on 
ourselves ;  by  going  out  of  ourselves,  to  fall  into  his 
arms.  More  definitely,  as  the  promises  of  Scripture 
are  the  vehicles  by  which  Christ  is  offered  to  us^  it 
b  the  contemplation  of  these  promises  which  brings 


ASSURAI^CE.  151 

Mm  into  our  believing  hearts.  These  are  called  "  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises,  that  by  these  ye 
might  be  partakers  of  a  divine  nature."  Those  who 
have  had  most  abiding  assurance  of  God's  love,  are 
those  who  have  been  most  in  meditation  on  the 
written  assurances  of  that  love.  It  is  in  the  study  of 
authentic  and  valid  title  deeds,  that  we  are  most  cer- 
tain of  our  rights.  The  great  propitiatory  work, 
above  all,  is  the  object  which  should  be  held  before 
our  eyes,  for  the  removal  of  doubts  and  fears. 

It  is  further  to  be  considered,  that  a  low  con- 
dition of  piety  is  not  the  soil  for  this  amaranthine 
flower.  Sorrow  and  tribulation  cannot  blight  it : 
but  it  withers  under  the  sunshine  of  worldiiness. 
Professors  who  take  their  pleasure  in  this  life  do  not 
seek  it,  and  do  not  find  it.  In  chambers  of  disease 
and  mourning,  on  death-beds,  at  the  stake,  or  amidst 
the  wild  beasts,  it  has  risen  to  exultation.  In  the 
days  of  primitive  piety,  it  seems  to  have  been  en- 
joyed by  all  the  martyrs.  God  was  pleased  to 
vouchsafe  it,  as  an  indemnity  for  all  they  surren- 
dered. In  our  day  of  half-way  Christianity,  when 
the  children  of  this  world  are  mingled  with  the 
children  of  light,  it  is  less  prized,  and  less  freely 
bestowed.  If  we  had  higher  graces,  we  should  havo 
more  assurance.  In  a  better  day,  when  the  uni- 
versal Christianity  shall  shoot  up  to  a  loftier  stature, 
it  will  reappear.  And  wherever  among  the  throng, 
any  shall  rise  to  superior  eminence  in  holiness,  his 
melting  heart,  fused  into  a  flow  of  tenderness  and 
love  by  the  heavenly  ray,  will  experience  the  pres- 


152  CONSOLATION. 

sure  of  this  pledge  and  seal.  I  will  venture  the 
suggestion,  that  cold  and  formal  churches  will  pro- 
duce, among  their  members,  a  rank  crop  of  weeds,  in 
the  shape  of  manifold  distrusts  and  fears  and  doubts  ; 
and  that  the  graces  of  individual  saints  will  be  most 
joyful,  when  the  collective  body  shall  be  warmed 
through  and  through.  Let  a  whole  church  be  lifted 
up,  in  renewed  faith,  and  love,  and  zeal,  and  cross- 
bearing,  and  earnest  labour,  and  these  doubts  will 
give  way  to  assurance.  Such  a  church  is  in  a  state 
of  revival.  Such  churches  ours  might  be,  and  ought 
to  be.  Let  Him  who  dwelleth  between  the  cherubim 
shine  forth ;  and  in  his  light  we  shall  see  light. 

It  is  scarcely  reasonable  to  expect  this  blessing 
amidst  prevalent  sin.  If  we  would  know  what 
hinders  it,  in  our  own  particular  case,  we  should 
inquire  into  our  unmortified  sins.  There  may  be 
some  latent  root  of  bitterness ;  there  may  be  some 
temper  indulged  within  us  repugnant  to  forgive- 
ness, meekness,  and  brotherly  love ;  there  may  be 
some  cross  which  we  refuse  to  bear;  some  indul- 
gence which  we  will  not  crucify ;  some  duty  which 
we  shudder  to  attempt.  In  the  attempt  after  uni- 
versal holiness,  the  unspeakable  favour  is  to  be  ex- 
pected. 

But  since  assurance  is,  after  all,  the  gift  of  God, 
to  whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  Him  ?  It  is  the  ope- 
ration of  the  Comforter.  And  if  we,  bemg  evil, 
know  how  to  give  good  things  to  our  children,  how 
much  more  shall  our  heavenly  Father  give  his  Holy 
Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  ?     "  Ye  have  not  be* 


ASSUEANCE.  153 

cause  ye  ask  not.  Ask,  and  ye  skall  receive." 
Make  this  great  attainment  a  separate  object  of  de- 
liberate ckoice  and  fervent  effort.  Till  you  are  no 
longer  able  to  live  without  it,  you  will  not  use  that 
diligence,  that  instant  zeal,  that  importunity,  which 
takes  no  denial,  that  agonizing  struggle  that  wins 
the  prize. 

It  may  come  to  your  window,  like  a  hovering 
dove,  with  the  "  olive-leaf  plucked  off,"  at  some  mo- 
ment when  weakness  and  confinement  shall  make 
you  prize  it  more  than  you  do  now.  This  angel  of 
peace  may  draw  your  curtains,  at  dead  of  night, 
amidst  tossing  and  weeping,  and  bring  to  you  that 
white  stone,  in  which  is  written  the  mysterious  new 
name.  You  may,  peradventure,  remember  these 
things,  in  some  time  of  unexpected  anguish.  Our 
voyage  is  not  exempt  from  tempestuous  weather. 
You  may  see  no  tokens  of  it  at  present.  Your  seas 
are  in  the  glassy  calm  of  summer.  You  are  listless 
in  regard  to  these  assurances  of  God's  love.  But  I 
seem  to  behold  a  change  of  scene  in  the  future. 
Years  have  gone  by ;  comforts  have  become  fewer ; 
clouds  have  gathered  ;  fears  are  in  the  way.  You 
are  embarked  upon  troubled  waters.  The  ship  is 
now  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  tossed  with  the  waves, 
and  the  wind  is  contrary.  You  have  been  long  in 
this  turbulent  state,  for  it  is  the  fourth  watch  of  the 
night.  But  one  approaches  in  the  moment  of  extre- 
mity, walking  on  the  sea.  O,  troubled  soul !  cry 
not  out  for  fear ;  hearken  to  the  well-known  voice : 
"It  is  I;  be  not  afraid!"     In  such  an  hour  of  soi> 


164  OONSOLATIOIT. 

row,  bereavement,  temptation  or  doubt,  tbe  visits  of 
assuring  love  are  beyond  all  price. 

Defer  not  the  attainment  of  some  reasonable 
confidence  until  your  day  of  peril.  In  a  world  so 
frail  and  precarious,  it  is  well  to  live  fore-armed.  The 
sudden  blow  of  tlie  messenger  of  death  may  so  stag- 
ger and  benumb  your  powers,  that  amidst  tbe  lan- 
guor or  tlie  consternation,  you  may  find  no  good 
time  to  put  these  precepts  into  practice.  And  yet, 
at  what  moment  can  full  assurance  be  so  valuable 
as  at  the  moment  of  death  ?  Thanks  be  unto  God, 
he  sometimes  grants  it  in  that  moment !  When 
flesh  and  heart  fail,  his  strength  is  near.  Yes,  we 
have  seen  the  dying  visage  lighted  up  with  the  an- 
gelic smile  of  triumph,  and  have  heard  the  song  of 
rejoicing  from  lips  already  cold.  A  preternatural 
glimpse  of  worlds  beyond  has  been  granted  even 
here.  Hear  the  eminent  theologian,  Andrew  Eivet, 
just  before  his  departure :  "  I  shall  shortly  no  more 
know  the  difference  between  day  and  night.  I  am 
come  to  the  eve  of  that  great  and  eternal  day,  and 
am  going  to  that  place  where  the  sun  shall  no  more 
give  light.  The  sense  of  Divine  favour  increaseth 
in  me  every  moment.  My  pains  are  tolerable,  and 
my  joys  inestimable!"  Hear  the  dying  Halybur- 
ton:  "For  those  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  I  have 
been  studying  the  promises ;  but  I  have  seen  more 
of  the  book  of  God  this  night  than  in  all  that  time." 
Hear  good  President  Finley :  "  I  am  full  of  triumph 
— I  triumph  through  Christ.  Nothing  clips  my 
wings  but  the  thought  of  my  dissolution  being  prr> 


ASSURANCE.  1^4 

longed.  O  that  it  were  to-night!  My  very  soul 
thirsts  for  eternal  rest !"  "  Have  you  any  doubts, 
my  dear  friend  ?"  asked  a  pious  woman  of  a  mother 
in  Israel,*  well  known  in  this  city,  who  had  been 
speaking  of  her  sins.  "  O  no,"  she  replied,  "  I  have 
no  more  doubt  of  going  to  my  Saviour  than  if 
I  were  already  in  his  arms.  My  guilt  is  all  trans- 
ferred :  he  has  cancelled  all  my  debt ;  yet  I  could 
weep  for  sins  against  so  good  a  God."  How  beauti- 
ful an  illustration  of  what  was  said,  that  the  highest 
assurance  does  not  relax  the  moral  sensibilities  or 
promote  connivance  at  sin. 

There  is  something  inexpressibly  beautiful  in  the 
Christian  old  age  of  one  who,  having  long  since 
committed  all  to  Christ,  has  set  down  to  wait  till 
his  change  come.  It  is,  indeed,  a  land  of  Beulah. 
.And  when  such  a  one,  by  gentle  degrees,  approaches 
the  term  of  life,  how  fair  the  spreading  prospect 
beyond.  Let  me  represent  his  exercises,  in  the 
words  of  a  gifted  believer :  "  This  river  has  been  a 
terror  to  many ;  yea,  the  thoughts  of  it  have  often 
frighted  me ;  but  now,  methinks,  I  stand  easy .  my 
foot  is  fixed  upon  that  on  which  the  feet  of  the 
priests  that  bare  the  ark  of  the  covenant  stood,  while 
Israel  went  over  this  Jordan.  The  waters,  indeed, 
are  to  the  palate  bitter,  and  to  the  stomach  cold ;  yet 
the  thoughts  of  what  I  am  going  to,  and  of  the 
conduct  that  waits  for  me  on  the  other  side,  doth 
lie  as  a  glowing  coal  at  my  heart.  I  see  myself 
now  at  the  end  of  my  journey ;  my  toilsome  days 

*  Mrs.  Graham. 


156  CONSOLATION. 

are  ended.  I  am  going  to  see  that  head  that  waa 
crowned  with  thorns,  and  that  face  that  was  spit 
upon  for  me.  I  have  formerly  lived  by  hearsay  and 
faith,  bnt  now  I  go  where  I  shall  live  by  sight,  and 
shall  be  with  Him  in  whose  company  I  delight  my 
self  His  voice  to  me  has  been  most  sweet,  and  his 
countenance  I  have  more  desired  than  they  that 
have  most  desired  the  light  of  the  sun." 

The  reader  may  justly  be  exhorted  to  "  use  all 
diligence,"  for  the  prize  is  great.  To  seek  it  is  to 
seek  eminent  holiness.  Look  for  it  in  the  employ- 
ment of  those  means  which  cause  one  to  "  grow  in 
grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour Jesus  Christ."  "  And  the  very  God  of  peace 
sanctify  you  wholly;  and  I  pray  God  your  whole 
spirit,  and  soul  and  body,  be  preserved  blar  ,lesa 
lanto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ !" 


B^EST  IN  eOD. 


VII. 

THE  time  rest  of  the  soul  is  God,  and  to  wank  this 
it  is  perpetually  tending,  even  when  it  knows  it 
not,  whicli  gives  us  the  reas^on  why  so  many,  indeed 
the  people  of  the  world  at  large,  are  constantly 
wandering  from  pleasure  to  pleasure,  unsatisfied  with 
any.  They  have  not  yet  found  their  true  centre, 
even  thpugh  they  may  be  gravitating  towards  it. 
Any  thing  which  deserves  the  name  of  rest  they 
have  not  yet  attained.  And  yet,  by  an  instinct  of 
nature,  men  seek  for  rest,  and  include  it  in  every 
idea  which  they  ever  entertain  of  consummate  hap- 
piness. The  philosophers  who,  without  revelation, 
tried  to  discover  truth,  avowed  it  as  their  object  to 
arrive  at  the  supreme  good ;  and  this  always  com- 
prised tranquillity  and  ease.  But  they  knew  not 
how  to  reach  it ;  their  end  was  right,  but  they  had 
no  means.  They  stood  gazing  at  a  prize  upon  the 
summit  of  an  inaccessible  mountain.  They  knew 
that  what  they  wanted  was  repose,  but  how  to  at- 
tain this  they  knew  not.  It  was  reserved  for  reve- 
lation to  make  known  the  great  mystery. 

Deeply  impressed  with  belief  that  many  of  those 
who  will  read  these  pages  are  wandering  from  the 


160  CONSOLATION. 

true  rest,  I  would  here  call  on  tliem  to  return,  b^ 
setting  before  tliem  a  genuine  repose,  which  the 
world  cannot  prevent  or  effectually  interrupt.  Chris- 
tianity affords  true  consolation.  It  is  to  find  this,  to 
catch  its  lineaments,  and  to  present  its  portrait,  that 
I  now  ask  attention.  Many  there  are  who  feel  that 
the  world  has  disquieted  them,  who  long  for  some- 
thing better,  but  know  not  whither  to  look.  "  Come 
unto  me,"  says  Christ,  "/will  give  you  rest."  Not 
the  rest  of  stupidity,  or  apathy,  or  inaction;  but 
that  which  arises  from  the  absence  of  all  disturbing 
causes.  It  belongs  to  true  Christians ;  no  others  can 
lay  claim  to  it.  There  is  no  way  to  attain  it  but  by 
the  Cross.  It  is  altogether  different  from  the  world's 
peace,  yet  it  is  real  and  unspeakably  delightful,  and 
thousands  in  earth  and  heaven  have  possessed  it. 
No  treasure  of  gold  suddenly  discovered  could  so 
enrich  you  as  to  come  to  the  possession  of  this  secret 
of  happiness.  I  therefore  claim  your  attention  when  I 
endeavour  to  set  forth  that  rest  or  Christian  repose 
in  God  to  which  you  are  invited  to  return.  May 
God  enable  us,  while  we  meditate,  to  understand 
and  to  attain  it!  I  propose,  first,  to  show  what 
Christian  tranquillity  or  spiritual  rest  is,  in  several 
particulars;  and,  secondly,  to  distinguish  it  from 
some  counterfeits  which  bear  its  name.  If,  in  con- 
clusion, the  reader  shall  be  urged  to  seek  it,  let  me 
bespeak  his  earnest  attention.  Spiritual  Quiet  of 
soul  is  founded  on  knowledge  of  God,  faith  in  Christ, 
a  tranquillized  conscience,  a  weakening  of  the  sinful 
principle,  submission  to  God,  trust  in  his  promises, 


BEST  IN   GOD.  161 

and  hoi}'  contemplation  of  tlie  supreme  excellence, 
as  offered  for  the  communion  of  our  spirits.  It  is 
tlie  more  important  to  say  this,  because  the  perver- 
sion of  a  great  truth  has  led  some  into  error  on  this 
very  point,  and  a  Quietism  has  been  proposed,  in 
various  ages  of  the  church,  which  is  as  inconsistent 
with  man's  mental  constitution  as  with  the  provi- 
sions of  grace. 

1.  Spiritual  Quiet  is  founded  on  hiowledge  of 
God.  It  is  a  quality  of  sublime  objects  to  bring 
the  soul  into  repose.  Deep  waters  are  still.  It  is 
little  things  which  agitate  and  excite  us.  There  is 
something  soothing  in  what  is  grand  and  soul-ab- 
sorbing. In  the  presence  of  the  ocean,  the  cataract, 
the  volcano,  or  the  starry  heavens,  we  feel  subdued 
and  are  silent.  Thus  also  the  thought  of  God,  the 
sublimest  of  all  ideas,  instead  of  driving  us  to 
frenzy,  calms  the  mind.  Even  on  the  sick-bed, 
when  the  irritable  and  too  sensitive  texture  can 
scarcely  bear  any  thing  that  is  awakening,  the 
thought  of  God  rises  upon  the  soul,  as  dewy  morn- 
ing rises  on  the  earth,  after  a  night  of  clouds.  It 
brings  refreshment  and  repose.  We  never  reach 
any  place  wherein  to  lie  down  in  safety,  till  we 
come  to  God.  This  is  the  continent  and  terra-firma . 
all  other  resorts  are  but  as  shifting  sands.  If  men 
did  but  know  it,  they  would  give  heed  to  that  in- 
ward tendency  which  perpetually  leans  towards  the 
abiding,  the  infinite,  the  absolute ;  that  is  God, 
Every  day  worldly  men  live,  they  find  the  ground 
slipping  from  under  their  feet ;  every  day  their  hold 
11 


162  CONSOLATION. 

pn  tliis  world  becomes  less ;  as  the  sands  in  their 
glass  are  fewer,  they  learn  that  their  pleasures  are 
so  likewise  ;  they  are  as  far  as  ever  from  that  rest- 
mg-place  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain  to  which 
they  looked  forward.  The  truth  is,  the  habit  of 
seeking  pleasure  in  excitement  has  become  too  strong 
for  them :  they  cannot  live  in  any  other  element. 
Hence  we  daily  see  men  of  business  disappointed : 
they  retire  from  the  active  concerns  of  life  ;  they  go 
into  the  country ;  they  seek  repose  among  friends 
and  books.  Ah  !  they  have  not  discovered  that 
the  rest  which  they  seek  must  be  within.  Nothing 
earthly  can  give  them  rest.  Happy  are  they,  who, 
at  this  stage  of  their  experience,  are  led  to  think  of 
God.  This  is  the  grand  idea  which  fills  and  satis- 
fies the  soul.  This  reaches  cravings,  which  every 
thing  else  does  but  tantalize.  To  learn  to  know 
God,  in  his  true  scriptural  character,  is  to  gain  a 
secret  of  mental  repose,  which  transforms  the  whole 
character.  But  here  an  obstacle  arises  in  the  way  : 
I  am  a  sinner.  How  can  a  sinner  approach  to 
God  ?     Which  leads  me  to  observe  : 

2.  Spiritual  Quiet  is  founded  on  Faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  more  our  knowledge  of 
God  in  his  absolute  glory,  the  greater  must  be  our 
dread,  and  the  wider  the  gulf  of  separation,  until 
we  are  made  acquainted  with  the  mediatorial  door 
of  access.  Though  God  is,  in  his  nature,  the  true 
rest  of  the  rational  creature,  there  is  no  returning  to 
him  as  our  rest,  but  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  By 
faith  we  come  to  him,  and  by  faith  we  abide.     The 


REST   IN    GOD.  163 

first  actings  of  faith  are  more  like  resting,  than  any 
thing  else:  the  word  well  expresses  the  recum- 
bency of  the  soul  on  God.  A  sinner  who  has  loug 
been  wearying  himself  with  every  kind  of  self- 
righteous  labour,  at  length  gives  up  in  despair, 
ceases  from  his  own  works,  abandons  his  own 
righteousness,  and  receives  and  rests  upon  Jesus 
Christ,  as  he  is  offered  in  the  gospel.  He  throws 
himself  into  those  open  arms.  Immediately  there 
ensues  a  tranquillity  never  known  before.  Being 
justified  by  faith,  he  has  peace  with  God.  Some 
would  judge  of  the  reality  of  conversion,  by  the 
amount  of  bustling  activity,  and  disposition  to  stir 
and  labour.  I  would  rather,  at  this  stage,  look  for 
repose  of  soul,  and  quiet  acquiescence  in  the  plan  of 
salvation,  as  one  which  renders  every  effort  at  self- 
justification  superfluous.  The  first  believing  tends 
to  calmness  of  spirit,  and  in  every  subsequent  period 
of  the  Christian  life,  it  is  believing  that  must  restore 
this  calm,  after  interruptions.  Relying  on  God's 
pardoning  mercy  must  tend,  if  any  thing  can,  to  bring 
the  heart  into  a  state  of  rest.  It  removes  at  once  the 
grand  source  of  perturbation,  namely,  dread  of  God  as 
an  avenging  Lawgiver.  To  say  that  a  man  believes 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  to  say,  that  he  consents 
to  be  saved  freely  by  the  Saviour's  righteousness : 
and  he  who  does  so,  needs  look  no  further,  but 
dwells  secure  as  in  a  citadel :  "  He  that  believeth 
shall  not  make  haste."  He  has  found  his  home: 
he  rests. 

3.  SpiriUtal  Quiet  proceeds  from  Peace  of  Con- 


164  CONSOLATION, 

science.  If  you  have  not  been  seared  as  with  a  red 
hot  iron,  you  know  the  agitation  produced  by  re- 
morse ;  and  if  you  have  had  much  conviction  of  sin, 
you  know  that  there  can  be  no  settled  quiet,  while 
this  internal  enemy  rages.  Only  carry  these  agita- 
tions to  their  highest  degree,  and  you  produce  the 
anguish  of  the  damned.  How  can  a  man  be  at 
peace,  with  an  evil  conscience  ?  Even  amidst  his 
pleasures,  it  utters  its  penetrating  cry :  and  all  within 
him  asserts  his  guilt  and  condemnation.  There  is 
but  one  cure  for  this  malady,  and  that  is  the  blood 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  sprinkled  upon  the  con- 
science. The  figure  is  derived  from  the  Levitical 
ordinance ;  where  the  offender,  after  offering  sacri- 
fice was  sprinkled  with  the  blood,  and  went  home 
satisfied  that  his  guilt  was  taken  away.  "  Purge  me 
with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be  clean :  wash  me,  and  I 
shall  be  whiter  than  snow."  When  faith  has  ap- 
proached the  altar,  and  laid  its  hand  on  the  head 
of  the  expiatory  lamb,  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  per- 
forms a  work  on  the  soul,  which  in  sacrificial  lan- 
guage is  called  the  sprinkling  of  Christ's  blood.  It 
is  such  an  inward  application  of  the  work  of  Christ, 
as  convinces  and  persuades  the  soul,  that  its  justifi 
cation  is  complete,  that  guilt  is  removed,  and  that 
God's  anger  is  taken  away.  And  this  persuasion 
tends  to  gentle  repose.  As  when  on  a  bed  of  sick 
ness,  the  patient  is  suddenly  relieved  from  parching 
fever,  with  its  heat,  its  thirst,  its  watchings,  its  inde- 
scribable restlessness  (apt  image  of  a  sinful  state), 
and  finds  himself  bedewed  with  the  bland  tokens 


EEST  IN   GOD.  165 

of  convalescence:  even  though  feeble,  lie  delights 
in  the  change,  and  lies  still  in  the  consciousness  of 
peace,  willing  like  an  infant  to  yield  himself  to  the 
almost  voluptuous  calm:  so  the  sinner,  when  first 
he  feels  the  security  of  being  reconciled,  leans  on  the 
bosom  of  his  Lord,  and  returns  to  his  rest. 

4.  Spiritual  Quiet  is  promoted  by  the  Mortificor 
tion  of  Sin.  Sin  is  the  sole  cause  of  all  the  discord, 
perturbation,  and  misery  that  there  is  in  the  uni- 
verse. The  Holy  Spirit  begins  at  regeneration  a 
work  which  is  to  end  in  extirpation  of  all  sin :  but 
it  is  not  accomplished  in  a  moment.  Regeneration 
is  the  beginning  of  sanctification  ;  and  sanctification 
consists  in  some  good  measure,  in  the  gradual  destruc- 
tion of  evil  principles,  which  in  Scripture  is  compared 
to  the  putting  to  death  (mortification)  of  a  human 
body,  by  a  violent  and  painful  process,  like  that  of 
crucifixion.  In  carrying  on  this  process,  the  sancti- 
fying Spirit  is  by  the  same  means  promoting  purity 
and  promoting  peace.  It  was  sin  that  produced  the 
disorderly  commotion ;  it  was  sin  that  tore  the 
heart ;  it  was  sin  that  let  loose  all  the  fierce  winds 
of  passion  to  howl  tempestuously  over  the  unregene- 
rate  mind.  If  you  catalogue  the  causes  of  your  dis- 
content, your  restlessness,  your  excitement,  your  fe- 
verish fretfulness,  you  will  find  the  names  to  be  such 
as  these  :  Pride,  Hate,  Envy,  Revenge,  Anger,  Lust, 
Covetousness,  Fear,  Inordinate  Affection.  Till  these 
caged  wild  beasts  are  driven  out  of  the  soul,  there 
can  be  no  quietness  :  sanctification  drives  them  out. 
Therefore,  the  more  a  man  advances  in  piety,  the 


166  CONSOLATION. 

more  liis  inward  tranquillity  ought  to  increase.  The 
day  grows  calmer,  as  the  sun  draws  near  its  setting  • 
hence  the  sweet  radiance  which  we  sometimes  be- 
hold playing  about  the  cottage  of  Christian  old 
age  ;  where  the  gentle  breezes  that  open  a  way  for 
themselves  among  the  autumn-clusters,  in  the  cool 
of  the  day,  betoken  the  peace  that  is  within. 

5.  Spirittiol  Quiet  is  fojvoured  hy  Suhfnission, 
The  first  law  of  religion  is  submission  :  "  Thy  will  be 
done ;"  and  where  it  does  not  exist  there  is  no  piety, 
and  just  as  truly  there  is  no  tranquillity.  What  a 
hideous  sight  to  see  a  human  creature  in  full  rebel- 
lion against  God's  providence  ;  repining  at  his  allot- 
ments ;  fighting  against  his  dispensations,  and  curs- 
ing his  judgments  !  But  it  is  not  more  sinful  than 
it  is  wretched ;  and  hell  is  not  only  wickedness,  but 
woe :  the  wickedness  makes  the  woe,  or  rather  is  the 
woe.  The  true  recipe  for  miserable  existence  is 
this :  Quarrel  with  Providence.  Even  in  the  smaller 
measures  of  this  temper  there  is  enough  to  prevent 
tranquillity.  And  hence,  when  God  means  to  make 
us  happy,  he  teaches  us  submission — a  resignation 
of  every  thing  into  his  hands,  and  an  acknowledg- 
ment that  whatsoever  He  does  is  wisest  and  best.  O 
how  sweetly  even  afilictions  fall  when  there  is  such 
a  temper  to  receive  them  !  "  Shall  we  receive  good 
at  the  hands  of  the  Lord,  and  shall  we  not  receive 
evil  V  "  Why  should  a  living  man  complain,  a 
man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins  ?"  Such  dispo« 
sitions  tend  to  stillness  of  soul;  and  even  amidst 
chastisement  there  is  internal  quiet. 


REST   IN    GOD.  167 

6.  Spiritual  Quiet  is  fwrthered  hy  Trust  in  God, 
How  large  a  portion  of  our  anxious  perturbations 
arise  from  forebodings  of  future  evils !  Could  we 
expel  sinful  fear  from  our  souls,  we  should  be  happy. 
But  who  can  destroy  this  monster  ?  God  only ;  and 
he  graciously  accomplishes  it  by  shedding  trustful- 
ness over  the  mind,  like  oil  over  the  waves.  This  is 
altogether  different  from  the  blind,  unfounded,  pre- 
sumptuous assurance  of  the  future  which  character- 
izes many  persons  of  sanguine  temperament.  It  is 
a  covenant  blessing.  Trust  is  belief  of  God's  pro- 
mises. Those  who  wander  about  in  the  world,  with- 
out any  reliance  on  divine  promise,  are  orphans, 
and  call  for  our  commiseration.  The  believer  has 
assurances  for  a  great  while  yet  to  come.  His  filial 
relation  to  God  makes  him  look  on  the  future  with 
new  eyes.  Whatever  may 'befall  him,  one  thing  is 
certain,  nothing  can  come  but  what  God  ordains. 
"  All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God."  His  life  is  insured.  In  proportion  to  his 
strength  of  trust  is  he  raised  above  all  those  vexa- 
tious apprehensions  which  men  of  the  world  expe- 
rience. In  his  happier  hours  he  is  enabled  to  put 
in  practice  his  Lord's  direction,  and  to  cease  taking 
thought  for  the  morrow.  We  should  all  be  more 
composed  if  we  could  do  so.  The  opposite  temper 
is  destructive  of  all  peace,  and  of  much  usefulness ; 
and  if  we  would  reach  the  higher  attainments  in 
piety,  we  must  make  up  our  minds  to  banish  for 
sver  the  habit  of  musing  on  future  and  possible  ills 
How  serene  and  balanced  is  the  soul  wliich  has  so 


168  CONSOLATION. 

fixed  itself  on  God  as  to  feel  satisfied  that  all  his  dig 
pensations  are  part  of  a  matchless  plan  for  its  good ! 
7.  Spiritual  Quietness  consists^  in  a  great  degree. 
m  Holy  Contemplation  and  Communion  with  God, 
I  know  how  strange  a  dialect  this  must  seem  to  the 
children  of  this  world;  but  we  stand  not  before 
their  tribunal.  As  we  believe  the  delights  of  para- 
dise consisted  not  so  much  in  tilling  the  garden, 
which  was  the  vocation  and  outward  business  of 
man,  as  in  the  viewing  the  Creator  in  all  his  works, 
and  in  gazing  up  into  his  face  of  love :  and  as,  in 
the  renewed  Eden  of  heaven  we  know  that  the  bless- 
edness of  saints  will  be  much  in  the  beatific  vision 
of  Divinity,  so  here,  also,  in  our  journey  to  Canaan, 
we  are  persuaded  that  a  leading  part  of  our  Christi- 
anity consists  in  the  contemplation  of  God's  excel- 
lencies, and  in  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  with 
the  Son,  through  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
We  were  made  for  this  intercourse,  and  there  is  no 
higher  exercise  of  human  faculties.  Moses  knew 
this,  when  he  made  it  his  great  request :  "  Show  me 
thy  glory !"  But  what  it  chiefly  behooves  me  to 
observe  is,  that  this  exercise  of  soul,  so  high,  so  hal- 
lowed, so  acceptable  to  God,  is  far  from  being 
stormy  and  impetuous,  but  is  transacted  in  the  pro- 
foundest  depths  of  the  soul's  silence.  It  is  when  the 
hum  of  life  has  ceased,  is  shut  out,  or  is  forsaken ;  at 
midnight — beside  the  ocean,  on  the  mountain  top ;  on 
our  knees,  or  prostrate  on  our  faces ;  that  we  yield  to 
those  sublime  and  unutterable  thoughts.  In  the 
lives  of  Augustine,  Edwards,  and  Brainerd,  you  will 


EEST  IN   GOD. 


learn  more  than  I  can  teach  of  this  wisdom,  ^ft'ii' o 
doth  not  strive,  nor  cry,  nor  lift  up  its  voice  in  the 
streets.  It  is  bent  not  so  much  on  public  warfe,  ^I 
however  useful,  as  on  the  hidden  work  of  the  heart, 
which  none  can  see  but  God.  It  seeks  retirement, 
and  even  solitude,  though  not  to  the  neglect  of  in- 
cumbent duties.  By  such  means  as  these  God  may 
be  served  worthily,  and  even  gloriously,  by  the  in- 
firm man  and  the  shrinking  woman,  who  cannot  so 
much  as  stir  out  of  their  chamber,  or  who,  perad ven- 
ture, never  leave  their  beds.  For  it  is  a  work  of 
silence  and  tranquillity.  It  shuns  the  glare  of  day, 
and  the  observation  of  men ;  and  even  this  very  fee- 
ble account  of  it  suffers  from  being  made  amidst  a 
world  to  which  it  stands  so  much  in  contrast.  For 
nothing  can  be  more  uncongenial  with  the  peace  of 
God  than  the  busy,  hurrying,  loquacious,  self-seek- 
ing spirit  of  earthly  employment.  I  fear  not  to  say 
this,  as  beheving  that  there  can  be  no  danger,  in 
any  infusion  of  contemplative  religion  which  we  can 
possibly  make,  into  the  habits  of  our  age  and  coun- 
try. Between  the  slavish  toil  of  business,  the  ar- 
dent fever  of  covetousness,  the  madness  of  ambition, 
and  the  foolery  of  fashionable  amusements,  which  has 
at  length  descended  to  the  toys  of  harlequin,  and 
the  provocatives  of  the  licentious  dance ;  among  all 
these  causes  of  excitement  there  is  not  much  danger 
of  an  over-attention  to  inward  and  spiritual  work. 
A  few  there  wiU  still  be  who,  in  remote  spots,  will 
commune  with  God,  and  antedate  the  enjoyments  of 
heaven. 


170  CONSOLATION 

Having  dwelt  tlius  far  on  some  of  the  sources 
of  spiritual  quiet,  I  would  now,  in  order  to  rescue  it 
from  misapprehension,  point  out  some  notes  of  dis- 
crimination, with  a  passing  view  to  certain  counter- 
feits :  for,  like  all  that  is  precious,  it  has  not  failed  to 
have  its  imitations. 

1.  The  calmness  of  the  Christian  is  not  stupid 
ignorance.  Men  may  be  quiet  for  want  of  know- 
ledge ;  as  we  frequently  see  exemplified  in  the  case 
of  the  vulgar  and  illiterate,  and  more  particularly  in 
the  savage,  who,  after  the  gratification  of  his  appe- 
tites, subsides  into  a  state  like  that  of  the  cattle 
I'eposing  in  the  pasture.  Phlegmatic  temperaments 
readily  give  way  to  such  tranquillity,  which  is  slumber 
rather  than  calm.  But  we  must  not  mistake.  The 
blessing  of  Christian  peace  which  Christ  confers  on 
ais  disciples,  is  not  a  negative  condition ;  still  less  is 
it  to  be  ascribed  to  dulness  or  emptiness.  It  in- 
creases with  knowledge :  the  more  truth,  the  more 
quietness.  Knowledge  of  the  truth  is  its  very  foun- 
dation. 

2.  It  is  compatible  with  high  mental  activit/y. 
This  is  the  more  important  to  be  said,  because  there 
have  been  some,  chiefly  in  the  Church  of  Eome,  but 
with  imitators  among  Protestants,  who  have  placed 
the  highest  spiritual  exercises  in  such  a  rest  of  soul, 
OS  excludes  all  intellectual  exertion.  The  soul  so 
rests  in  God,  as  no  longer  to  think.  It  forgets  all 
things,  and  turning  inwards  is  absorbed  in  one  per- 
vading idea  of  rest  in  God.  This  is  what  has  been 
called  Quietism.     But  this  is  delusion,  against  which 


BEST  IN   GOD.  lYl 

one  can  hardly  protest  with  too  much  earnestness. 
God  has  never  meant  the  glory  of  man/  his  reason, 
to  be  excluded  from  the  noblest  exercises  of  religion. 
The  quietude  pretended,  in  which  all  mental  activ- 
ities are  swallowed  up,  would  be  less  like  the  sub- 
lime condition  of  an  intellectual  being,  than  the 
vacancy  of  childhood  or  the  imbecility  of  age.  It 
might  be  accepted  as  relief  from  pain,  but  could  not 
be  chosen  as  the  means  of  happiness.  That  state  in 
which  the  soul  neither  thinks  nor  wills,  is  not  a 
heavenly  state.  In  true  spiritual  quiet  the  mind 
chooses  to  be  at  rest.  It  is  not  the  calm  of  stupor, 
as  when  one  lies  in  a  lethargic  sleep,  but  the  rest 
of  the  wearied  labourer  in  his  beloved  home.  The 
rest  of  a  soul  in  God,  though  infinitely  removed  from 
the  agitations  of  the  world,  and  its  conflicting  and 
distressing  reasonings,  is,  nevertheless,  a  state  in 
which  the  thoughts  are  active :  seeking  after  God, 
apprehending  him,  appropriating  and  enjoying  him. 
The  seraphs  that  adore  and  burn,  are  intellectual 
creatures ;  and  we  conceive  of  the  saints  in  heaven 
as  knowing,  learning,  and  putting  forth  those  mental 
exertions,  which  tend  to  the  perpetual  advancement 
and  expansion  of  their  powers.  A  heaven  in  which 
there  is  no  intellectual  activity  would  be  no  heaven  for 
a  rational  creature ;  and  it  is  a  gross,  though  com- 
mon abuse  of  the  term  rest,  to  apply  it  to  a  drowsy, 
listless,  unimproving  eternity:  though  heaven  is  a 
rest,  it  is  neither  a  dream  nor  a  sleep. 

3.  The  rest  of  a  'pious  smd  in  God  is  not  imx^o^ 
eistent  with  active  service.     Even  in  beaveu,  as  we 


172  CONSOLATION. 

read,  "  Ms  servants  shall  serve  him."  They  shall  have 
fit  employments  there,  labour  without  weariness ;  and 
the  best  we  can  do  in  this  w.orld  is  to  imitate  theii 
activity.  The  controversy  between  the  contem- 
plative and  the  active  life  has  been  very  earnestly 
waged ;  and  able  arguments  have  been  urged  on  both 
sides.  One  party  has  been  for  spending  the  whole 
life  in  angelic  meditation :  the  other  has  made  all 
piety  consist  in  going  about  and  doing  good.  The 
tendency  of  the  middle  ages  was  to  the  contem- 
plative, of  this  our  nineteenth  century  to  the  active 
life;  and  each  in  extremes.  The  days  of  hermits 
and  anchorets,  like  those  of  the  Thebaid ; .  of  monks, 
and  nuns,  pretending  or  endeavouring  to  mortify  the 
flesh,  and  live  in  continual  silence,  grief  and  vision 
of  God,  have  passed  away.  We  have  fallen  on  days 
in  which  there  is  such  a  bounty  on  haste,  energy, 
and  fruitful  toil,  that  avarice  robs  God  of  his  sabbath, 
drives  its  gainful  wheels  seven  days  in  the  week,  and 
busy  mortals  can  scarcely  find  time  to  read  and  pray, 
or  to  bless  their  families.  But  the  active  and  the 
contemplative  coincide  in  the  religion  of  the  gospel. 
Its  divine  founder  spent  whole  nights  in  prayer  to 
God,  in  deserts  and  mountains ;  but  his  days  were 
active — "  he  went  about  doing  good."  The  rest,  to 
which  you  are  invited,  is  not  the  mere  absence  of 
bodily  motion.  It  is  a  more  refined  idea.  It  is  even 
consistent  with  active  labour,  of  any  virtuous  kina. 
The  pious  soul  is  never  more  at  rest,  than  when  most 
busily  engaged  in  appropriate  external  duties.  True 
Christianity  does  not  cut  off  such  duties :  this  was 


REST  IN  GOB.  173 

the  error  of  times  when  thousands  of  thriftless  per- 
sons  forsook  the  plough  and  the  loom,  and  thronged 
in  pilgrimages  and  into  cloisters.  Spiritual  quiet  of 
soul  coexists  with  lawful  activity,  and  sanctifies  it. 
No  man  has  therefore  any  right  to  make  his  religion 
a  cloak  for  idleness,  whether  in  church  or  state. 

4.  What  is  still  more  surprising,  Christian  rest 
may  he  maintained  amidst  trials  and  suffering. 
Here  it  distinguishes  itself  from  any  thing  which 
the  world  calls 'by  its  name.  Worldly  persons 
have  their  enjoyments;  but  they  are  dependent 
on  worldly  things,  and  when  these  are  broken  or 
removed,  the  tranquillity  ceases.  It  is  the  glory  of 
true  religion,  that  it  can  be  firm  and  serene  amidst 
storms  of  change.  In  days  of  prosperity,  when  all 
things  smile,  it  is  easy  to  maintain  quiet  of  soul :  but 
when  skies  grow  dark,  when  friends  are  few,  when 
health  fails,  when  losses  and  bereavements  and  old 
age  come  on,  and  misfortunes  thicken  every  hour — 
to  be  tranquil  then — ^to  feel  that  all  is  safe — ^that  the 
real  portion  has  not  been  touched — that  God  is  still 
the  same,  and  that  he  is  ours ;  this  is  what  cannot  be 
comprehended  by  the  man  of  the  world,  or  by  the 
formal  professor.  And  yet  it  is  true,  and  is  exem- 
plified in  a  thousand  cases  of  distress  and  consolation. 
Were  it  not  so,  such  songs  as  the  forty-sixth  psalm 
had  long  since  been  blotted  out  of  the  psalter,  as 
containing  idle  falsehood :  whereas,  generation  after 
generation  in  the  church  for  nearly  three  thousand 
years  has  been  singing  with  experience  and  triumph : 
"  Therefore  will  not  we  fear,  though  tl:  e  earth  be  re- 


174  CONSOLATIOK. 

moved,  and  though  the  mountains  be  carried  into  the 
midst  of  the  sea:  though  the  waters  thereof  roar  and 
be  troubled,  though  the  mountains  shake  with  the 
swelling  thereof'  If  you  would  see  the  true  victory 
over  the  world,  visit  the  experienced  Christian 
amidst  his  trials.  At  the  first  he  may  indeed  be 
shaken  for  a  little  season  in  order  that  he  may  the 
better  feel  the  solid  foundation  under  his  feet :  but 
at  length  he  finds  his  footing  on  the  Rock  of  Ages, 
and  can  cry,  "  Lo !  this  is  our  God ;  we  have  waited 
for  him,  and  he  will  save  us :  this  is  the  Lord  ;  we 
have  waited  for  him,  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in 
his  salvation."  Seeing,  therefore,  that  such  causes 
of  agitation  will  and  must  come,  it  will  be  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  prepare  ourselves  with  the  means  of  in- 
ward quiet:  and  what  means  are  these,  but  that 
which  our  subject  points  out?  The  lesson  is  not  to 
be  learnt  at  once,  nor  without  some  severe  discipline  • 
our  trials  are  intended  to  teach  it.  The  moment  is 
a  joyful  one,  when  it  is  acquired.  The  Psalmist 
seems  to  have  been  thus  led  to  the  utterances  of  the 
hundred  and  sixteenth  psalm.  It  was  the  perform- 
ing of  his  vow  and  the  expression  of  his  thank- 
fulness. He  had  been  in  no  common  adversities; 
he  had  felt  the  need  of  rest:  "The  sorrows  of 
death  compassed  me,  the  pains  of  hell  gat  hold 
upon  me,  I  found  trouble  and  sorrow."  But  in  his 
affliction  he  cried  to  God,  and  with  success.  "  The 
Lord  preserveth  the  simple  ;  I  was  brought  low  and 
he  helped  me :  Return  unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul,  for 
the  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee !"     It  waa 


EEST   IN   GOD.  175 

the  sense  of  God's  mercy  to  him  in  affliction,  which 
led  him  to  retm^n  to  God  as  his  rest.  That  is  bless- 
ed affliction  which  has  this  result.  It  is  the  prop- 
erty of  trials,  to  show  men  where  their  refuge  is.  If, 
in  hours  of  sadness,  we  lean  on  an  arm  of  flesh,  or  seek 
comfort  from  earthly  gains,  diversions  and  excite- 
ments, it  proves  us  to  be  carnal ;  if,  on  the  contrary, 
every  cloud  of  trouble  only  makes  us  more  deter- 
minately  seek  our  heaven  in  God's  nature  and  prom- 
ises ;  and  if  we  never  love  and  prize  his  covenant  of 
redemption,  more  than  when  we  are  smarting  under 
his  rod,  it  affords  us  good  reason  to  think  that  we 
have  been  renewed  m  the  spirit  of  our  minds.  But 
even  true  believers  have  much  yet  to  learn,  and 
often  need  to  be  exhorted  to  return  to  God.  In  pro- 
portion as  they  wander,  they  lose  their  tranquillity 
of  mind ;  though  for  a  time  they  may  not  know  the 
reason;  they  only  know  that  they  are  disquieted. 
At  length,  some  heavy,  sudden  blow  awakens  them 
from  their  worldly  dream,  and  they  look  around  in 
wild  alarm  for  the  God  and  Father  whom  they  have 
neglected.  Then  they  begin  to  discover  that  the 
soul  has  no  rest  but  in  God,  and  feel  their  need  of 
returning  to  this. 

Many  persons  are  sufficiently  persuaded  of  the 
world's  unsatisfactoiiness,  but  have  taken  no  steps 
towards  the  supply  of  their  great  want.  You, 
let  me  say,  are  the  very  persons  to  whom  religion 
ought  to  be  welcome.  It  is  the  very  repose  you 
need.  In  vain  do  you  weary  yourselves,  to  procure 
rest  by  any  other  means.    It  is  not  in  the  creature 


176  CONSOLATION. 

You  were  made  to  repose  in  God.  You  deny  your 
souls  tlieir  cMef  blessing,  while  you  remain  alienated 
from  him.  And  how  strange  is  the  illusion  which 
prompts  your  delay !  Your  procrastination  is  a  put- 
ting off  of  the  happiness  which  you  might  be  begin- 
ning to  enjoy,  and  which  would  be  always  the 
greater  during  your  whole  existence,  for  your  having 
begun  now.  Are  there  not  moments  when  you  are 
almost  disgusted  with  life?  when  your  pleasures 
have  no  longer  any  zest  ?  when  com23unction  more 
than  neutralizes  your  joys  ?  when,  in  a  word,  you  feel 
your  need  of  God  ?  Though  there  is  nothing  neces- 
sarily holy  in  these  sentiments,  they  bring  you 
nearer  the  borders  of  ^  religious  life ;  they  should  be 
seized  on,  as  so  many  promptings  to  fulfil  your  grand 
obligation.  Do  you  ask  me  what  I  would  have  you 
to  do  ?  The  answer  is  easy,  and  it  is  momentous. 
Return  to  your  rest.  Return,  return !  O  wanderer, 
y.ou  are  in  the  wrong  path.  Every  step  takes  you 
further  away.  Never  can  you  supply  these  crav- 
ings, or  quell  these  perturbations,  but  by  coming  to 
Him,  who  is  the  Infinite  Portion  and  the  Everlasting 
Rest.  That  wearied,  vexed,  and  pained  head  re- 
quires a  pillow.  Is  it  not  time  to  rest  ?  Have 
you  not  pursued  long  enough  the  vanities  of  the 
world  ?  Are  you  willing  to  be  for  ever  repeating 
the  old  experiment,  with  the  same  resulting  disap- 
pointment ?  Shall  not  the  increasing  cares  of  life 
teach  you  to  seek  consolation?  When  you  were 
younger,  you  thought,  perhaps,  that  wealth  would 
give  you  tranquillity:  now  that  you  have  attained  it, 


BEST  IN   GOD.  177 

you  find  the  care  of  it  as  perplexing  as  the  accpisi* 
tion.  Or  if  still  in  the  turmoil  of  worldly  business, 
you  need  but  an  hour  of  serious  reflection  to  make 
you  sure  that  neither  this,  nor  aught  like  this,  can 
insure  your  peace.  The  voice  still  cries,  "  Return." 
The  Father  whom  you  have  abandoned  in  your  sin 
and  folly  is  still  willing  to  receive  you — to  see  you 
at  a  distance — ^to  fall  upon  your  neck  and  kiss  you. 
The  way  of  return  you  know,  for  you  know  Him 
who  saith,  "I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the 
Life."  In  this  view,  how  can  we  ever  be  thankful 
enough  for  the  truth,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  most 
accessible  being  in  the  universe  !  He  is  ever  stand- 
ing, within  his  door  of  mercy,  ready  to  throw  it 
wide  at  the  first  and  feeblest  knock.  He  does  not 
wait  for  us  to  ask  leave  to  petition,  but  says  to  us, 
Ask — ^seek — ^knock !  It  is  his  province  to  give  the 
weary  rest,  and  to  conduct  to  the  Father  for  that 
purpose.  There  is  no  other  way,  and  if  you  are 
seeking  others,  you  are  wasting  your  time,  and  lay- 
ing up  disappointment.  "What  shall  you  do  to  gain 
this  desired  repose?  Let  me  hasten  to  tell  you. 
Dismiss  all  other  concerns,  which  you  can  intermit 
without  sin,  and  devote  yourself  to  this.  What 
would  you  do,  if  your  estate  were  balancing  on  a 
point — if  your  life  were  in  jeopardy?  You  would 
forsake  all,  for  this  one  thing.  Is  any  thing  more 
precious  than  your  soul  ?  Is  any  thing  longer  than 
eternity  or  greater  than  God  ?  The  charge  which 
we  have  to  bring  against  the  children  of  this  world 
is,  that  in  respect  to  religion,  they  turn  their  backs 
12 


178  CONSOLATION. 

on  all  the  safe  maxims  wliicli  regulate  their  actions 
in  lesser  things.  If  a  man's  property  is  endangered 
— if  his  investments  are  insecure — if  his  house  is  di- 
lapidated— if  his  business  is  unproductive — if  his 
family  is  diseased — ^these,  or  any  one  of  these  secular 
troubles  engrosses  his  attention.  He  turns  his  mind 
upon  this  single  point  as  his  great  study.  He  is  not 
content  to  consider  it  now  and  then,  in  intervals  of 
business,  when  other  persons  speak  of  it — when 
some  friend  urges  it  upon  him ; — I  mean  to  say  he 
does  not  treat  this  great  worldly  topic  as  you  are 
habitually  treating  the  salvation  of  your  soul.  No ! 
He  broods  over  it.  He  sets  apart  time  for  it.  He 
takes  advisement  on  it.  It  becomes  his  fixed  idjea, 
in  his  house  and  by  the  way ;  it  retires  with  him ; 
it  awakens  him  in  the  night ;  it  rises  with  him ;  it 
hangs  over  him  as  a  cloud,  and  darkens  all  his  pros- 
pect. The  feast  is  no  longer  joyful;  the  cup  no 
longer  exhilarates;  the  music  has  no  melody,  and 
day  no  sunshine,  till  this  importunate,  haunting 
anxiety  is  satisfied  and  dismissed.  And  let  me  assure 
my  readers,  just  so,  just  so^  will  you  be  affected,  if 
at  any  time  the  care  of  your  soul  shall  become  an 
object  of  pursuit  as  really  as  your  earthly  interest 
now  is.  You  have  possibly  seen  a  man  so  unsettled, 
as  to  let  his  business,  health,  and  family  go  to  de- 
struction, while  in  his  infatuation,  he  has  left  all  to 
chance,  and  thrown  himself  away.  Precisely  thus 
you  are  doing  with  your  soul.  Is  it  not  so  ?  Do 
you  ever  bestow  on  this  transcendent  interest  one 
hour  of  sober  planning?     And  yet  you  complain 


BEST  IN   GOD.  1^9 

that  you  cannot  attain  to  rest!  Pursuing  your 
present  course,  it  is  certain  you  never  will.  O  be 
persuaded  to  consider  and  to  return !  "When  shall 
you  begin?  Now!  This  moment!  The  path, 
though  infinitely  important,  is,  in  respect  to  time, 
Bhoii;. 


CHRISTIAN  JOY  EXPELLING  THE  DI* 
TRESSES  OF  THE  SOUL. 


vni. 

THE  blessed  Spirit  of  God  is  wont  to  destroy  evil 
principles  in  tlie  heart,  by  implanting  such  as  are 
good;  to  wean  the  affections  from  the  world,  by 
attaching  them  to  heaven ;  and  to  take  away  the 
sense  of  great  trials,  by  shedding  abroad  the  love  of 
God  in  the  heart.  This  mode  of  operation  is  obvi- 
ous. If  we  can  be  made  glad,  our  sorrows  pass 
away ;  and  to  say  that  any  one  rejoices,  is  to  say 
that  he  has  full  consolation.  If,  therefore,  the  most 
inveterate  case  of  suffering,  in  a  forlorn  old  age, 
could  only  be  visited  by  the  smiles  of  God's  counte- 
nance, no  more  would  be  necessary,  in  order  to  en- 
tire rehef. 

In  looking  at  little  children — those  dehghtful 
objects  to  which  Christ  has  condescended  to  direct 
our  eyes — we  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  their 
joys,  and  to  contrast  them  with  the  pleasures  of 
after  years.  In  their  gambols  there  is  the  ebullition 
of  a  gladness,  that  is  unsought,  unfeigned,  and  heart- 
felt. Very  different  are  the  mirth  and  excitement 
of  more  mature  life.  After  the  natural  elasticity 
of  youth  is  gone,  men  try  every  mode  of  artificial 
stimulation.     But  with  all  their  endeavoui*s,  there 


184  CONSOLATION. 

are  dregs  at  the  bottom  of  their  most  foaming  cup. 
Their  best  excitements  are  the  short-lived  flame  of 
some  light,  transitory  material.  May  not  the  ap- 
peal be  made  to  every  reader  ?  As  you  go  on  in 
life,  you  find,  disguise  it  as  you  may,  that  the  sus- 
ceptibility for  high  pleasures  is  abated.  You  dis- 
cover yourself  to  be  grave,  when  all  around  you  are 
in  laughter.  You  are  ready  to  judge  austerely  of 
the  hilarity  of  youth,  and  to  wonder  how  they  can 
be  so  enchanted  with  a  bubble,  when,  forsooth,  your 
own  bubble  is  only  larger  and  heavier  and  duller. 
Now  and  then  you  pause  before  some  scene  or  ob- 
ject, which,  twenty  years  ago,  set  all  your  pulses  in 
motion ;  you  are  loth  to  confess  it,  but  all  within 
you  is  dead.  In  vain  do  you  endeavour  to  repro- 
duce the  romance  of  your  childhood;  to  rekindle 
the  fire  among  your  embers ;  to  restore  the  faded 
colours  on  the  canvas.  Your  eye  fastens  itself  on  the 
long  procession  of  departing  youthful  joys,  growing 
smaller  and  dimmer  in  the  distant  perspective.  The 
truth  is,  earthly  joys  are  every  day  diminishing,  and 
the  susceptibility  of  pleasurable  excitement  from 
earthly  causes  grows  less  and  less,  with  the  decay  of 
natural  sensibility.  This  would  be  a  melancholy 
truth,  if  we  had  no  resource  but  terrestrial  things, 
and  no  world  but  this.  But  thanks  be  to  God,  there 
are  susceptibilities  which  do  not  grow  old,  and  capa- 
cities which  increase  with  exercise.  And  while 
earthly  excitements  lose  their  power,  tliose  which 
are  heavenly  grow  stronger  and  stronger.    Hence,  an 


CHRISTIAN   JOY.  185 

old  age  without  religion  involves  the  loss  of  both 
worlds. 

There  is  no  class  of  words  more  a,bundant  in  the 
Scriptures  than  those  which  express  the  varieties  of 
joy.  And  this  affords  a  new  proof  of  God's  infinite 
benevolence,  that  he  has  made  it  our  religion  to  be 
happy.  In  calling  us  to  leave  the  world,  he  is  only 
calling  us  to  heaven.  In  exhorting  us  to  believe, 
and  hope,  and  love,  he  only  summons  us  to  that  har- 
mony of  the  powers,  which  tends  to  their  most  bliss- 
ful exercise.  And  hence,  in  the  tender  and  affecting 
discourses  which  the  Lord  held  with  his  disciples 
after  the  Eucharist,  he  principally  speaks  of  the  In- 
dwelling Comforter,  as  the  Author  of  their  promised 
happiness.  Having  promised  them  peace,  his  own 
peace,  he  goes  on  to  promise  them  joy,  even  his  own 
joy.  "  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that 
my  joy  might  remain  in  you,  and  that  your  joy 
might  be  fuU." 

We  may  consider,  first,  the  beginnings  of  this 
joy,  in  those  who  are  effectually  called ;  secondly, 
and  as  our  chief  topic,  the  progress  of  joy,  in  the  ha- 
bitual walk  of  God's  people ;  thirdly,  in  few  words, 
the  power  of  joy  to  overcome  earthly  troubles;  and, 
finally,  the  unspeakable  blessing  of  joy  on  the  bed  of 
death.  And,  as  we  proceed,  it  should  be  our  pray- 
er, that  even  careless  and  worldly  readers  may  be 
led  to  see  that  there  is  here  a  pearl  of  great  price, 
for  joy  whereof,  a  man  might  well  sell  all  that 
he  hath,  to  make  the  purchase  ;  which  may  God 
grant ! 


186  CONSOLATION. 

"  Joy  is  a  delight  of  tlie  mind,  from  tlie  conside- 
ration of  the  present  or  assured  approaching  posses- 
sion of  a  good."  Religious  joy  is  the  same  delight 
of  the  mind,  as  caused  by  religious  good.  It  is  a 
fruit  of  the  Spirit,  and  is,  therefore,  called  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost.  It  is  the  subject  of  our  meditations 
for  a  little  time. 

I.  Early  Joy  demands  our  attention.  There 
is  a  joy  which  is  altogether  new,  at  the  time  of  con- 
version. "  "We  joy  in  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  whom  also  we  receive  the  atonement." 
The  degree  of  this  heavenly  gift  varies  exceedingly, 
with  diversities  of  character  and  dispensation ;  but 
where  God  gives  faith  and  hope,  he  usually  gives 
some  joy.  You,  who  now  peruse  these  pages, 
call  to  mind  that  day  of  rejoicing,  when  God 
gave  you  the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of 
heaviness.  It  was  emerging  from  the  troubled  de- 
lirious dream  of  a  long  illness.  Doubtless  there  are 
those  also  who  can  remember  great  joys,  seasons  of 
exultation,  when  the  day  broke,  and  the  dayspring 
arose  in  their  hearts.  Let  us  not  doubt  or  con- 
demn those  whose  experience  does  not  altogether 
tally  with  this,  or  make  that  a  test  of  piety  which 
Christ  has  not  made  such  ;  but  let  us,  nevertheless, 
be  thankful,  that  God  does  communicate  these  tokens 
of  favour.  And  let  those  who  seek  God's  face,  and 
desire  the  light  of  his  countenance,  look  forward  to 
this,  as  a  blessing  which  is  not  too  great  to  be  asked. 
These  tranquil  pleasures  cannot  be  fully  represented 
by  earthly  emblems,  not  even  by  the  calmest  vernal 


CHRISTIAN   JOY.  187 

day,  or  the  most  glassy  seas.  There  are  many  con* 
curring  sources  of  this  joy.  There  is,  for  example, 
the  exulting  transport  of  escape.  Shall  the  rescued 
mariner  exult  when  he  stands  dripping  upon  his 
rock  among  the  fragments  of  a  shipwreck  ?  And 
shall  not  the  rescued  sinner  rejoice,  when  God  has 
freely  pardoned  all  his  sins  ?  There  is  joy  in  safety. 
There  is  joy  in  feeling  for  the  first  time  in  life  that 
one  is  in  his  true  orbit,  moving  in  his  right  direction, 
and  with  powers  engaged  agreeably  to  their  intent 
and  creation.  There  is  joy  in  opening  the  eyes  on 
new  heavens  and  a  new  earth ;  in  joining  the  band 
of  new  companions ;  feeling  the  pressure  of  their 
ardent  hand ;  catching  the  enthusiasm  of  fellowship, 
and  wandering  onward  in  paths  strewed  with  mer- 
cies, and  overshadowed  with  graces,  and  clustered 
over  with  fruits  of  benignant  love.  There  was  joy 
in  the  outburst  of  gratitude,  and  joy  even  in  the 
tears  with  which  you  bedewed  the  sacred  feet  of 
Him  who  raised  you  in  his  arms,  and  freely  forgave 
you  all.  But,  having  now  touched  on  the  beginning 
of  joys,  I  reserve  for  another  head  of  remark,  those 
manifestations  which  are  common  to  both. 

II.  Joy  in  Progress  is  next  to  be  considered. 
It  would  be  a  great  blessing,  even  if  it  ceased :  but 
it  goes  along  with  the  believer.  Its  source  is  peren- 
nial. It  is  His  joy.  It  is  his  joy  which  "remains  in 
them."  The  spiritual  Israel  have  all  drunk  of  that 
Spiritual  Rock,  which  follows  them,  and  that  rock 
is  Christ.  It  is  a  part  of  that  communion  in  grace, 
which  the  members  of  the  invisible  church  hav^ 


188  CONSOLATION. 

with  Christ,  partaking  of  the  virtue  of  his  mediation', 
first  in  their  renewal,  and  then  in  these  blessings 
which  manifest  their  union  with  him.  Thus  united, 
they  have  communicated  to  them,  even  in  their  life, 
the  first-fruits  of  glory  with  Christ,  as  they  are 
members  of  him  their  head,  and  so  in  him  are  in- 
terested in  that  glory  which  he  is  fully  possessed  of. 
As  an  earnest  of  this,  they  have  some  measure  of 
joy.  Hence,  when  we  hear  of  conversions  at  An- 
tioch,  we  read,  "  And  the  disciples  were  filled  with 
joy  and  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  Acts  13  :  52.  The 
difficulty  here  is  to  keep  within  bounds.  Through 
the  tender  mercy  of  our  God,  the  sources  of  reli- 
gious joy  are  almost  as  numerous  as  the  parts  of  re- 
ligion itself.  Among  such  a  wilderness  of  delights, 
we  must  be  brief,  and  must  classify  a  little.  The 
joys,  then,  of  the  believer,  may  be  arranged  in  a 
threefold  division.  For  they  may  be  those  which 
come  hiome  at  once  and  directly  to  his  own  private 
happiness — or  they  may  be  those  which  he  receives 
through  the  happiness  of  others — or  they  may  be 
those  which  come  from  his  new-born  interest  in  the 
glory  of  God ;  exulting  in  God,  and  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  will. 

1.  The  joy  of  a  Christian  heart  is  sometimes  the 
joy  of  Tmowledge,  To  the  stupid  uninquiring  mind, 
this  seems  strange :  yet  even  to  the  natural  intellect 
the  acquisition  of  light  brings  ecstasy.  Hence  titie 
enthusiasm  and  self-martyrdom  of  scholars  and  dis- 
coverers. Think  you  any  sensual  pleasure  ever 
equalled  that  of  Archimedes,  when  he  hung  over 


CHRISTIAN   JOY.  189 

the  theorem  ft-om  which  only  death  could  tear  him; 
or  of  Franklin  when  he  touched  the  pendant  key, 
and  gave  the  spark  which  opened  a  new  world  to 
science  ?  Who  can  picture  the  transport  of  early 
philosophers,  or  inquiring  Jews,  when  they  first  wel- 
comed the  great  Christian  revelations  ?  The  truths 
which  are  common-place  to  us,  were  to  them  the 
very  lights  of  heaven.  There  is  sweetness  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  knowledge,  especially  of  religious  know- 
ledge. God's  word  is  sweeter  than  honey  and  the 
honeycomb.  With  a  meager  revelation,  compared 
with  ours,  David  could  sing  :  "  I  have  rejoiced  in  the 
way  of  thy  testimonies,  as  much  as  in  all  riches ;" 
and  "  I  rejoice  in  thy  word,  as  one  that  findeth  great 
spoil ;"  and  "  thy  testimonies  have  I  taken  as  a  heri- 
tage for  ever :  for  they  are  the  rejoicing  of  my 
heart."  This  will  be  yet  more  apparent,  when  it  is 
considered,  that  in  the  august  and  glorious  charac- 
ter of  God,  the  believer  has  an  object  of  knowledge, 
which  infinitely  surpasses  all  others,  and  is  indeed 
all-comprehensive.  The  prayer  of  every  saint  will 
be  that  of  Moses :  "  I  beseech  thee,  show  me  thy 
glory  !"  We  must  include  in  this,  the  serene  enjoy- 
ment which  is  experienced  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  Divine  Excellence,  when  intellectual  acts  are 
lost  in  the  devout  vision  of  Him  whom  angels  wor- 
ship. Here  are  pleasures  which  have  in  them  no- 
thing selfish,  and  which  may  even  leave  fax  behind 
all  respect  whatever  to  our  own  personal  interest. 
God  himself  is  the  happiness,  the  joy,  the  life  of  his 


190  CONSOLATION 

people.     "  This  is  eternal  life,  to  know  thee,  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent." 

2.  Thus  we  are  imperceptibly  led  to  the  joy  of 
communion.  The  bond  of  connection  is  Chiist. 
Through  him  we  have  access  to  the  Father.  He  is 
continually  approachable  at  the  mercy-seat.  Faith 
beholds  him,  devotion  cleaves  to  him,  love  enjoys 
him.  The  disciple  can  rejoice  that  God  is  a  recon- 
ciled Father,  and  that  nothing  can  separate  from  his 
love.  After  union  by  the  covenant,  each  separate 
attribute  becomes  a  source  of  delight;  and  he  re- 
joices in  the  very  being  of  Jehovah  ;  that  he  is,  and 
such  as  he  is.  "  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth 
rejoice  !"  And  when  there  is  added  to  this,  the  un- 
paralleled exhibition  of  divinity,  in  the  plan  of 
grace,  and  the  blending  of  all  God's  perfections  at 
the  cross,  nothing  further  need  be  added.  God 
himself,  I  say,  is  the  Joy  of  saints.  They  "  rejoice 
in  the  Lord,"  and  "  glory  in  the  Holy  One."  Is.  41 . 
"  I  will  greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  my  soul  shall  be 
joyful  in  my  God :  for  he  hath  clothed  me  with  the 
garments  of  salvation,  he  hath  covered  me  with  the 
robe  of  righteousness,  as  a  bridegroom  decketh  him- 
self with  ornaments,  and  as  a  bride  adorneth  herself 
with  her  jewels."  Is.  61 :  10.  This  is  a  joy  which 
remains,  as  Christ's  gift,  with  his  people,  as  long  a? 
the  covenant  of  peace  remaineth. 

3.  The  Joy  of  Worship  is  but  a  step  removed, 
and  is  common  to  all  believers.  It  is  in  worship, 
that  these  exalted  views  of  God  are  obtained.  Medi- 
tation may  lay  the  wood  and  the  offering :  but  devo- 


CHEISTIAN  JOY.  191 

tion  kindles  the  fire  of  the  altar.  To  pray  to  such 
a  God,  so  beheld,  is  to  rise  in  joyfulness  towarda 
heaven.  To  praise  him,  under  any  true  apprehen- 
sion of  his  excellency,  is  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory.  Employ  this,  beloved,  as  a  test  of  Christian 
character.  To  the  unrenewed  mind,  prayer  is  al- 
Nrays  a  task,  if  not  a  burden  ;  it  may  be  performed, 
but  it  is  never  enjoyed  ;  a  needful  remedy,  perhaps, 
but  not  a  refreshment  or  a  delight.  But  if  the  testi 
mony  of  your  heart  is,  that  prayer  is  among  youi 
chosen  comforts — if  your  closet  is  a  beloved  refuge — 
if  you  feel  the  loss  or  interruption  of  this  intercourse 
to  be  a  cross  and  a  trial — if  even  sometimes  your 
affections  overflow  and  your  heart  flows  out  towards 
Christ:  then,  my  prevalent  thought  is,  that  you 
are  a  child  of  God,  and  an  heir  of  grace.  The  hypo- 
crite will  not  always  pray.  It  is  worship  which 
makes  the  joy  of  Sanctuaries.  When  the  whole 
congregation  rises  in  prayer,  and  the  united,  respect- 
ful, adoring,  exulting  exercises  of  many  souls  goes 
along  with  the  voice  of  him  who  leads  ;  or  when  all 
voices  of  a  great  assembly  send  up  the  sound  of 
psalmody,  without  the  exception  of  a  single  organ 
that  has  the  capacity  ;  then  are  granted  moments, 
long  to  be  remembered,  as  an  antepast  of  heaven. 
Here  is  the  great  attraction  of  God's  house,  which 
caused  the  psalmist  to  cry  (Ps.  43  :  3)  :  "  O  send  out 
thy  light  and  thy  truth ;  let  them  lead  me :  let  them 
bring  me  unto  thy  holy  hill,  and  to  thy  tabernacles : 
then  will  I  go  unto  the  altar  of  God,  unto  God  my 
exceeding  joy,"  or  more  literally,  "  unto  God  tho 


192  CONSOLATION. 

gladness  of  my  joy."  And  it  is  predicted,  as  part 
of  the  glory  of  a  latter  day,  when  foreign  tribes  shall 
take  hold  of  God's  covenant,  I  will  bring  them  "  to 
my  holy  mountain,  and  make  them  joyful  in  my 
house  of  prayer."  Is.  56  :  7. 

4.  The  Joy  of  a  new  nature  is  too  important 
to  be  omitted.  It  is  the  misery  of  the  wicked  that 
he  is  an  instrument  out  of  tune ;  and  the  discordant 
strings  are  so  many  nerves,  vital  and  sentient,  and 
carrying  anguish  to  the  centre  of  feeling.  But  when 
the  harp  is  new-strung;  when  the  hand  of  grace 
moves  over  the  harmonious  chords ;  when  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  sanctified  heart  testifies  that  unity 
and  love  are  at  least  preluding  the  choral  joys  of 
heaven,  it  is  a  breath  of  Heaven's  health.  Con- 
science, being  pacified,  allows  the  affections  to  rise 
and  mingle  in  their  strength.  Every  good  thought, 
feeling,  word,  or  work,  is  accompanied  with  such  a 
measure  of  complacency  as  may  consist  with  humili- 
ty and  penitence.  "  Beloved,  if  our  hearts  condemn 
us  not,  then  have  we  confidence  toward  God."  1 
John  3  :  21.  Then  it  is  that  the  believer  can  add: 
"  We  are  in  him  that  is  true,  even  in  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ :  this  is  the  true  God,  and  eternal  life."  1 
John  5 :  20. 

5.  Then  follows  the  Joy  of  Possession,  There 
can  be  none  greater  than  when  the  soul  can  say, 
"My  Lord  and  my  God;"  "my  Beloved  is  mine, 
and  I  am  his ;"  "  I  know  whom  I  have  believed." 
This  is  not  merely  to  know  God,  but  to  know 
him  oiirs ;  to  behold  his  perfections  ranged  on  oui 


CHEISTIAN   JOY.  193 

part ;  to  enter  into  his  fulness  and  partake  of  his 
love.  Then  the  heart  finds  its  true,  inexhausti- 
ble portion,  for  which  it  was  made,  to  which  all  its 
capacities  -are  suited,  and  which  will  constitute  its 
eternal  heaven.  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ? 
and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  beside 
thee."  Ps.  Y3  :  25.  "Far  be  it  from  thy  servant 
(says  Augustine)  who  confesseth  to  thee,  O  Lord, 
far  be  it  from  thy  servant  to  rejoice  in  any  other  joy, 
so  as  to  make  it  his  happiness !  For  there  is  a  joy 
which  is  not  given  to  the  wicked,  but  to  those  who 
serve  thee  freely,  of  whom  thou  art  thyself  the  very 
joy.  And  the  true  happy  life  is  to  have  joy  to- 
wards thee,  concerning  thee,  on  account  of  thee  ;* 
this  it  is,  and  not  another."  Or  in  the  words  of  a 
modern  saint  :f  "  Offer  up  thyself  wholly  to  Him,  and 
^  the  point  of  thy  love  upon  his  most  blessed  in- 
created  love ;  and  there  let  thy  soul  and  heart  rest  and 
delight,  and  be  as  it  were  resolved  and  melted  most 
happily  into  the  blessed  Godhead ;  and  then  take  that 
as  a  token,  and  be  assured  by  it  that  God  will  grant 
thy  lovely  and  holy  desires.  Say,  '  I  am  nothing,  I 
have  nothing,  I  can  do  nothing,  and  I  desire  nothing 
but  One.'  "  These  higher  exercises  may  be  wanting, 
and  yet  true  piety  may  exist. 

6.  To  thesQ  modes  of  renewed  emotion  must  be 
added  the  Joy  of  holy  Excitement.  Man  w^as  not 
made  to  be  stagnant.  The  sails  are  for  the  breeze, 
and  for  progress.  There  is  no  Castle  of  Indolence  in 
all  our  goodly  land.     There  is  no  languid  happi- 

*  Gaodere  ad  te,  de  te,  propter  te,  t  Leij^hton. 


194  CONSOLATION. 

ness,  no  lethargic  Christianity.  He  who  would  steer 
clear  of  all  excitement  may  as  well  bid  adieu  to  the 
coasts  of  joy,  which  is  the  highest  excitement.  The 
stream  of  human  passions  is  admitted  into  a  new 
channel,  but  it  runs  full.  There  is  enough  in  gospel 
motives  to  carry  the  tide  to  its  utmost.  Scripture 
expressions  lead  us  to .  think  that  it  was  so  in  the 
early  day.  "These  things,"  said  Christ,  "have  I 
spoken  unto  you  that  your  joy  might  be  full," — a 
sentiment  echoed  thirty-three  years  after  by  the  be- 
loved disciple:  "And  these  things  write  we  unto 
you  that  your  joy  may  be  full."  1  John  1 :  4.  The 
powers  must  be  on  the  stretch,  in  order  to  give  the 
highest  joy.  The  muscle  must  be  in  action,  or  suffer. 
And  hence  a  life  of  Christian  activity  is  the  greatest 
means  of  enjoyment.  Christ's  chief  joy  is  not  for  the 
couch,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  the  couch  of  weakness  or 
pain  sent  by  Him ;  and  then  suffering  in  all  respects 
takes  the  place  of  action.  "  They  also  serve  who 
only  stand  and  wait ;"  but  Christ's  chief  joy  is  in  the 
conscious  putting  forth  of  grace  ;  when  the  soul  can 
say :  "  I  know  both  how  to  be  abased,  and  how  to 
abound :  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  me."     Phil.  4:12. 

In  speaking  of  the  height  to  which  joyful  Chris- 
tian experience  may  rise,  even  in  this  life,  it  is  al- 
lowable to  adduce  one  or  two  instances  from  the 
recorded  exercises  of  eminent  Christians  in  different 
periods  of  the  church.  But  we  must  do  this  with  a 
caution  premised.  These  attainments  are  unusual 
and  extraordinary,  and  are  not  to  be  regarded  aa 


CHRISTIAN  JOY.  195 

common  to  all  believers.  The  consideration  of  tliem 
should  not  dishearten  those  disciples  who  have  been 
called  to  walk  in  lowlier  paths.  The  genuine  faith 
of  God's  elect  may  exist  without  these  raptures. 
Yefc  they  serve  to  magnify  the  love  of  the  Spiiit, 
and  to  show  how  rich  the  eflfusions  of  grace  may  be 
when  the  sovereignty  of  the  Giver  so  decrees. 

The  first  instance  which  shall  be  cited  is  that  of 
the  learned  orthodox  and  pious  John  Flavel,  a  man 
every  way  remote  from  credulity  and  superstition.  In 
a  treatise  of  his  on  the  soul  of  man,  he  gives  the  fol- 
lowing narrative,  which,  though  in  the  third  person, 
has  always  with  justice  been  considered  to  relate  to 
himself:  "I  have,"  says  he,  "with  good  assurance 
this  account  of  a  minister,  who  being  alone  in  a 
journey,  and  willing  to  make  the  best  improvement 
he  could  of  that  day's  solitude,  set  himself  to  a  close 
examination  of  the  state  of  his  soul,  and  then  of  the 
life  to  come,  and  the  manner  of  its  being,  and  living 
in  heaven,  in  the  views  of  all  those  things  which  are 
now  pure  objects  of  faith  and  hope.  After  a  while, 
he  perceived  his  thoughts  begin  to  ^x^  and  come 
closer  to  those  great  and  astonishing  things  than 
was  usual ;  and  as  his  mind  settled  upon  them,  his 
affections  began  to  rise  with  answerable  liveliness 
and  vigour. 

"  He,  therefore,  while  yet  master  of  his  own 
thoughts,  lifted  up  his  heart  to  God  in  a  short  ejac- 
ulation, that  God  would  so  order  it  in  his  provi- 
dence that  he  might  meet  with  no  interruption  from 
company,  or   any  other   accident,  in  that  journey, 


196  CONSOLATION. 

whicli  was  granted  Mm ;  for  in  all  that  day's  jouiv 
ney  lie  neither  met,  overtook,  nor  was  overtaken  of 
any.  Thus  going  on  his  way,  his  thoughts  began  to 
swell  and  rise  higher  and  higher,  like  the  waters 
in  Ezekiel's  vision,  till  at  last  they  became  an  over- 
flowing flood.  Such  was  the  intention  of  his  mind, 
such  the  ravishing  tastes  of  heavenly  joys,  and  such 
the  full  assurance  of  his  interest  therein,  that  he 
utterly  lost  sight  and  sense  of  this  world,  and  all 
the  concerns  thereof,  and  for  some  hours  knew  no 
more  where  he  was  than  if  he  had  been  in  a  deep 
sleep  upon  his  bed.  At  last  he  began  to  perceive 
himself  very  faint,  and  almost  choked  with  blood, 
which,  running  in  abundance  from  his  nose,  had  dis- 
coloured his  clothes  and  his  horse,  from  the  shoulder 
to  the  hoof  He  found  himself  almost  spent,  and 
nature  to  faint  under  the  pressure  of  joy  unspeak- 
able and  unsupportable ;  and  at  last  perceiving  a 
spring  of  water  in  his  way,  he,  with  some  difficulty 
alighted  to  cleanse  and  cool  his  face  and  hands. 

"  By  that  spring  he  sat  down  and  washed,  ear- 
nestly desiring,  if  it  were  the  pleasure  of  God,  that 
it  might  be  his  parting-place  from  this  world.  He 
said,  death  had  the  most  amiable  face,  in  his  eye, 
that  ever  he  beheld,  except  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ, 
which  made  it  so ;  and  that  he  could  not  remember 
(though  he  believed  he  should  die  there)  that  he 
had  once  thought  of  his  dear  wife  or  children,  or  any 
eartjftly  concernment.  But  ha^dng  drunk  of  that 
spring,  his  spirit  revived,  his  blood  stanched,  and 
he  mounted  his  horse  again  ;  and  on  he  went,  in  the 


CHRISTIAN   JOY  197 

same  iframe  of  spirit,  till  lie  liad  finished  a  journey  of 
near  thirty  miles,  and  came  at  night  to  his  inn, 
where  Leing  come,  he  greatly  admired  how  he  had 
come  thither ;  that  his  horse,  without  his  direction, 
had  brought  him  thither,  and  that  he  fell  not  all  that 
day,  which  passed  not  without  several  trances  of  con- 
siderable continuance. 

"All  this  night  passed  without  one  wink  of 
sleep,  though  he  never  had  a  sweeter  night's  rest 
in  all  his  life.  Still,  still,  the  joy  of  the  Lord  over- 
flowed him,  and  he  seemed  to  be  an  inhabitant  of 
another  world.  The  next  morning  being  come,  he 
was  early  on  horseback  again,  fearing  the  divertise- 
ment  of  the  inn  might  bereave  him  of  his  joy ;  for 
he  said  it  was  now  with  him  as  with  a  man  that 
carries  a  rich  treasure  about  him,  who  suspects  every 
passenger  to  be  a  thief  But  within  a  few  hours  he 
was  sensible  of  the  ebbing  of  the  tide,  and  before 
night,  though  there  was  a  heavenly  serenity  and 
sweet  peace  upon  his  spirit,  which  continued  long 
with  him,  yet  the  transports  of  joy  were  over,  and 
the  fine  edge  of  his  delight  blunted.  He,  many 
years  after,  called  that  day  one  of  the  days  of  hea- 
ven, and  professed  he  understood  more  of  the  life 
of  heaven  by  it  than  by  all  the  books  he  ever 
read,  or  discourses  he  ever  entertained  about  it. 
This  was,  indeed,  an  extraordinary  foretaste  of  hea- 
ven for  degree,  but  it  came  in  the  ordinary  way  and 
method  of  faith  and  meditation."  ^ 

To  this  may  be  added  an  account  which  Presi 

*  Flavers  Works,  fol.  vol.  i.  pp.  501, 502. 


198  CONSOLATION. 

dent  Edwards  gives  of  some  remarkable  manifesto 
tions  of  divine  favour  to  himself;  Attention  is  ask 
ed  to  tliose  exercises  of  placid  delight,  for  this  rea- 
son among  others,  that  the  subject  of  them  was  no 
less  eminent  as  a  philosopher  than  as  a  Christian, 
and  was  versed  in  discriminating  between  what  is 
false  and  what  is  true  in  religious  experience. 

Writing  of  his  early  religious  life,  he  says :  "  Ho- 
liness, as  I  then  wrote  down  some  of  my  contempla- 
tions on  it,  appeared  to  me  to  be  of  a  sweet,  plea- 
sant, charming,  serene,  calm  nature,  which  brought 
an  inexpressible  purity,  brightness,  peacefulness,  and 
ravishment  to  the  soul.  In  other  words,  that  it 
made  the  soul  like  a  field  or  garden  of  God,  with  aU 
manner  of  pleasant  flowers ;  all  pleasant,  delightful, 
and  undisturbed;  enjoying  a  sweet  calm,  and  the 
gentle  and  vivifying  beams  of  the  sun.  The  soul  of 
a  true  Christian,  as  I  then  wrote  my  meditations, 
appeared  like  such  a  little  white  flower  as  we  see  in 
the  spring  of  the  year;  low  and  humble  on  the 
ground,  opening  its  bosom  to  receive  the  pleasant 
beams  of  the  sun's  glory ;  rejoicing  as  it  were  in  a 
calm  rapture ;  diffusing  around  a  sweet  fragranc/ ; 
standing  peacefully  and  lovingly,  in  the  midst  of 
other  flowers  round  about ;  all  in  like  manner  open- 
ing their  bosoms  to  drink  in  the  light  of  the  sun. 
There  was  no  part  of  creature  holiness  that  I  had 
so  great  a  sense  of  its  loveliness  as  humility,  broken- 
ness  of  heart  and  poverty  of  spirit,  and  there  was 
nothing  that  I  so  earnestly  longed  for.  My  heart 
panted  after  this,  to  lie  low  before  God,  as  in  the 


RE£6r 


CHEISTIAN  JOY.  II  ^  ^T  r^'^lM^  ^yf^ 

dust,  tliat  I  might  be  notHng,  and  tlia^;^iod  might  /^ 
be  ALL ;  that  I  might  become  as  a  little  child.''  And  /^ 
again ;  "  Sometimes  only  mentioning  a  single  word 
causes  my  heart  to  burn  within  me,  or  only  seeing 
the  name  of  Christ,  or  the  name  of  some  attribute 
of  God.  And  God  has  appeared  glorious  to  me, 
on  account  of  the  Trinity.  It  has  made  me  have  ex- 
alting thoughts  of  God,  that  he  subsists  in  three 
persons ;  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  The  sweet- 
est joys  and  delights  I  have  experienced  have  not 
been  those  that  have  arisen  from  a  hope  of  my  own 
good  estate,  but  in  a  direct  view  of  the  glorious 
things  of  the  gospel. 

"Once,  as  I  rode  out  into  the  woods,  ha^nng 
alighted  from  my  horse  in  a  retired  place  for  divine 
contemplation  and  prayer,  I  had  a  view  that  for  me 
was  extraordinary,  of  the  glory  of  the  Son  of  God  as 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  and  his  wonderful, 
great,  full,  pure,  and  sweet  grace  and  love,  and  meek 
and  gentle  condescension.  The  grace  that  appeared 
so  calm  and  sweet,  appeared  also  great  above  the 
heavens.  The  person  of  Christ  appeared  inejffably 
excellent,  with  an  excellency  great  enough  to  swal- 
loAV  up  all  thought  and  conception ;  which  continu- 
ed, as  near  as  I  can  judge,  about  an  hour ;  which 
kept  me  the  greater  part  of  the  time  in  a  flood  of 
tears,  and  weeping  aloud.  I  felt  an  ardency  of  soul 
to  be — what  I  know  not  otherwise  how  to  express — 
emptied  and  annihilated :  to  lie  in  the  dust  and  to 
be  full  of  Christ  alone;  to  love  him  with  a  holy 
and  pure  love ;  to  trust  in  him  ;  to  live  upon  him ; 


200  CONSOLATION. 

to  serve  and  follow  him ;  and  to  be  perfectly  sanctl 
fied  and  made  pure,  witli  a  divine  and  heavenly 
purity."  * 

All  tliat  lias  been  urged  might  be  summed  up 
in  the  statement,  that  Christian  joy  is  produced  by 
whatsoever  brings  Christian  principle  into  life  and 
action  ;  and  holiness  gives  happiness  in  its  very  ex- 
ercise, which  may  suffice,  in  regard  to  those  joys 
which  come  home  directly  to  the  believer's  private 
happiness.  But  in  the  progress  of  his  joys,  we 
arrive  at  others,  which  are  reflected,  or  which  rise 
out  of  sympathy  with  fellow-men.  Christianity  is  not 
insulated.  'No  man  is  regarded  by  the  Master,  or 
should  regard  himself,  as  having  a  separate  interest. 
''  Look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  every 
man  also  on  the  things  of  others."  Phil.  2  :  4. 
Hence  a  new  class  of  joys  spring  up  beyond  the  self- 
ish circle.  "  Rejoice  with  them  that  do  rejoice."  Rom. 
12  :  15.  If  I  am  rightly  affected,  that  which 
brings  good  to  my  brother  brings  good  to  me.  And 
as  a  large  part  of  Christianity  consists  in  acts  ol 
benevolence,  every  one  of  these  is  a  means  of  joy. 
If  we  would  be  happy,  we  must  love.  We  must  do 
good  and  communicate.  The  man  who,  like  his 
Master,  goes  about  doing  good,  walks  in  a  path 
perhaps  of  some  sorrows,  yet  of  more  joys  than  any 
other  on  this  side  heaven.  See  how  remarkably 
this  was  the  source  of  Paul's  comforts.  He  could 
not  be  happy,  unless  men  were  saved,  so  he  presses 
truth  on  the  Philippians  (2  :  16),  "that  I  may  ro 

*  Edwards's  Works,  Ed.  1844,  vol.  i.  pp.  21,  24. 


CHRISTIAN   JOY.  201 

juice  in  the  day  of  Christ,  that  I  have  not  run  in  vain, 
neither  laboured  in  vain."  And,  in  the  same  strain, 
to  his  beloved  Thessalonians  (1  Thess.  2  :  19): 
"  For  what  is  our  hope,  or  joy,  or  crown  of  rejoicing  ? 
Are  not  ye  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
at  his  coming  ?  for  ye  are  our  glory  and  joy."  The 
more  we  enlarge  the  circle  of  our  benevolence,  even 
until  it  take  in  the  whole  race  of  man,  the  more  do 
we  widen  the  field  of  our  enjoyment ;  it  is  an  exten- 
sion of  the  sentient  surface.  It  may,  it  must  bring 
its  pains,  but  it  brings  pleasures  which  the  luxury 
of  the  worldling  has  never  surmised.  Every  cup  of 
cold  water  given  to  the  thirsty — every  helping  hand 
offered  to  the  weary — every  tear  shed  over  the 
desolate — every  almsgiving  to  the  worthy  or  visit 
to  the  dying — every  page  of  the  gospel  sent  to  the 
ignorant— and  every  word  whispered  to  the  fainting, 
come  back  with  a  returning  wave  of  joy  to  the  soul 
which  by  grace  has  originated  them.  Nowhere, 
however,  is  this  sympathetic  communication  so  deli- 
cate or  so  quick  as  in  the  mystical  body.  The  web 
is  a  texture  all  alive  to  the  electric  current.  God 
has  so  framed  the  structure  of  his  people,  that  there 
is  no  insulation ;  1  Cor.  12:26,  "that  there  should 
be  no  schism  in  the  body;  but  that  the  members 
should  have  the  same  care  one  for  another.  And 
whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffel 
with  it ;  or  one  member  be  honoured,  all  the  mem- 
bers rejoice  with  it."  Do  we,  brethren,  so  rejoice  ? 
The  more  we  increase,  therefore,  in  philanthropy 
and  brotherly-love,  the  more  will  our  joys  increase, 


202  CONSOLATIOK. 

until,  at  length,  we  sliall  find  nothing  extravagant 
in  the  strong  expressions  of  Paul,  concerning  the 
Corinthians  (2  Cor.  7  :  13),  when  he  thus  alludes  to 
the  good  news  he  had  f^om  them :  "  Therefore  we 
were  comforted  in  your  comfort ;  yea,  and  exceed- 
ingly the  more  joyed  we  for  the  joy  of  Titus,  be- 
cause his  spirit  was  refreshed  by  you  all."  The  rea 
son  our  joys  are  few  is  that  our  love  of  brethren  is 
small. 

There  is  still  in  the  progress  of  Christian  hap- 
piness a  class  of  joys  which  are  more  directly  for 
God^s  sake;  when  we  rejoice  in  virtue  of  our  con- 
nection with  God,  feeling  as  children  for  the  honoui 
and  interests  of  a  father.  How  can  it  be  otherwise  ? 
The  son  and  subject  has  now  exchanged  his  own 
poor  little  interests  for  those  of  God.  The  filial 
spirit  has  come  in.  The  spirit  of  loyalty  has  come 
in.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  has  swallowed  up  other 
regards.  He  would  gladly  suifer  aU  and  spend  all 
for  Christ's  crown  and  covenant.  And  hence  his 
joys,  both  of  hope  and  possession,  take  their  colour 
from  the  rising  of  Christ's  standard  in  the  world. 
This  was  felt  in  ancient  days,  even  by  the  children 
of  the  captivity,  at  the  waters  of  Babylon,  when 
they  said  (Ps.  138  :  6) :  O  Jerusalem,  "if  I  do  not 
remember  thee,  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of 
my  mouth ;  if  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief 
joy."  "  The  zeal  of  thy  house  "  (said  the  Psalmist  and 
said  the  Messiah)  "  hath  consumed  me."  In  Chris- 
tian days,  the  love  of  Christ's  kingdom  leads  to  high 
exultation  at  its  increase ;  when  one  siimer  repenteth 


OHEISTIAN  JOY.  203 

there  is  (Luke  15:  10)  joy  among  angels;  when 
multitudes  are  saved,  shall  there  not  be  joy  among 
men  ?  Where  a  minister  of  the  gospel  is  a  regene- 
rate person,  this  is  one  of  his  records :  ^'  I  have  no 
greater  joy"  (said  the  aged  John)  "than  to  hear 
that  my  children  walk  in  the  truth."  And  it  is  a 
happiness  which  may  rise  to  unusual  heights,  under 
great  successes,  as  when  Paul  exclaims  (2  Cor.  2  :  14), 
"Now  thanks  be  unto  God,  which  always  causeth 
us  to  triumph  in  Christ,  and  maketh  manifest  the 
savour  of  his  knowledge  by  us  in  every  place!" 
This  makes  cheerful  energetic  labour,  and  sheds  a 
holy  oil  on  every  wheel :  for  as  Nehemiah  said 
(8:  10):  "The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 
It  is  a  joy  which  must  brighten,  as  years  roll  on, 
bringing  new  and  augmented  evidences  of  Christ^s 
advance  to  triumph  over  all  his  enemies ;  when  the 
latter  psalms  shall  be  the  significant  and  appropriate 
hymns  of  the  Church,  and  the  voice  shall  be  (Ps. 
149) :  "  Let  Israel  rejoice  in  him  that  made  him ; 
let  the  children  of  Zion  be  joyful  in  their  King ;  let 
the  saints  be  joyful  in  glory ;  let  them  sing  aloud 
upon  their  beds."  We  have  thus  considered,  in  a 
very  imperfect  manner,  the  progress  of  Christ's  jo}^, 
as  communicated  to  his  people,  in  their  progress 
toward  the  everlasting  rest. 

III.  For  a  third  topic,  let  us  bestow  a  few  mo- 
ments on  Joy  amidst  Sorrows,  This  is  at  once  the 
most  extraordinary  and  the  most  welcome  part  of 
the  doctrine.  Ancient  fable  tells  us  of  a  stream 
which  passed  thi'ough  the  salt  sea,  and  reappeared 


204  CONSOLATION. 

in  Sicily,  without  losing  its  freshness :  but  here  we 
have  a  joy  which  flows  unchanged  through  the  midst 
of  troubles.  It  may  be  a  paradox ;  but  if  there  is 
any  thing  undeniable  in  Christian  experience,  it  is 
this.  We  could  call  ten  thousand  witnesses,  from 
the  martyr  in  his  chain  to  the  palsied  or  consump- 
tive pauper,  dying  on  his  straw.  Christian  joy  has 
triumphed  over  every  variety  of  external  distress. 
And  the  reason  is,  that  it  rests  on  nothing  that  is 
sensual,  earthly,  or  fading.  "He  builds  too  low, 
who  builds  beneath  the  skies."  I  am  fully  per- 
suaded, that  no  man  is  independent  of  trials  but 
the  Christian ;  and  that  there  is  no  kind  or  degree 
of  outward  trial,  against  which  grace  may  not  fur. 
nish  a  perfect  solace  or  support.  It  is  a  joy  which 
flows  from  the  very  Head  of  the  mystical  body,  and 
which  remains  and  is  full,  when  other  fountains  have 
gone  dry.  Hab.  3:18;  "Although  the  fig-tree 
shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the  vines ; 
the  labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields  shall 
yield  no  meat ;  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the 
fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls :  yet 
will  I  rejoice  in  the  Lord ;  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of 
my  salvation."  Observe  how  the  great  apostle  to 
the  Gentiles  makes  his  way  among  contending  tides 
of  difficulty,  Uke  a  sturdy  swimmer  striking  out 
against  a  rapid  sea.  2  Cor.  6:8:  "By  honour 
and  dishonour,  by  evil  report  and  good  report ;  as 
deceivers,  and  yet  true ;  as  unknown,  and  yet  well 
known  ;  as  dying,  and  behold  we  live  ;  as  chastened, 
and  not  kiUed ;  as  sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing ; 


CHRISTIAN   JOT.  205 

as  poor,  yet  making  many  ricli ;  as  having  nothing, 
and  yet  possessing  all  things."  Observe,  again,  how 
strangely  the  apostle  James  addresses  the  dispersed 
of  the  twelve  tribes  :  "  My  brethren,  count  it  all  joy 
when  ye  fall  into  divers  trials."  Paul  prays  that  the 
Coldssians  (1:  11)  maybe  strengthened  "unto  all 
patience  and  long-suffering  with  joy  fulness  :"  and  he 
knew  it  to  be  possible ;  for  he  writes  to  the  Co- 
rinthians, 2  Cor.  7:4:  "I  am  filled  with  comfort : 
I  am  exceeding  joyful  in  all  our  tribulation."  It  was 
his  constant  testimony  concerning  this  joy ;  for  after 
enumerating  the  things  which  the  world  most  dreads, 
namely,  tribulation,  distress,  persecution,  famine,  na- 
kedness, and  sword,  he  adds,  what  the  world  can 
never  say,  "  In  all  these  things  we  are  more  than 
conquerors,  through  Him  that  loved  us."  Ah!  that 
is  the  secret  reason.  It  is  the  joy  of  Christ,  accord- 
ing to  our  apostle.  It  is  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Isa. 
61  :  1-3 :  For  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon  him, 
anointing  him,  "to  comfort  all  that  mourn,  to  ap- 
point unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto 
them  beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourn- 
ing." Enough  has  therefore  been  said,  to  convince 
us  that  this  joy  is  immeasurably  distant  from  all 
the  joys  of  the  present  world,  and  is  able  to  sur- 
mount all  its  troubles.  But  I  have  reserved,  for 
brief  notice  in  a  last  particular,  the  crowning  tri- 
umph of  this  grace. 

IV.  There  is  Joy  in  the  lioii/r  of  death.  We  say 
not  composure,  simply,  or  fortitude,  or  patience,  or 
resignation,  but  joy.     It  may  not  be  given  to  all 


206  CONSOLATION. 

but  it  is  possible,  it  may  be  prayed  for ;  nay,  blessed 
be  His  name,  it  is  common.  In  the  last  words  of  the 
last  canonical  epistle,  Jude  (v.  24)  exclaims,  address- 
ing believers :  "  Now  unto  him  that  is  able  to  keep 
you  from  falhng,  and  to  present  you  faultless  before 
the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy."  This 
light  sometimes  begins  in  the  dying  chamber.  Paul 
awaited  such  a  close  of  ministry  and  life,  saying 
(Acts  20 :  20)  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus :  "  None  of 
these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear 
unto  myself,  so  that  I  may  finish  my  course  with 
joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  In  view  of  this  salvation,  Christ  is 
still  the  grand  object  and  source  of  hope.  1  Peter 
1:8:  "  Whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love  ;  in  whom, 
though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejoice 
with  joy  unspeakable,  and  fall  of  glory:  receiving 
the  end  of  your  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  your 
souls."  Yes,  with  clay-cold  hands,  we  receive  this 
salvation  from  him  who  died  for  us !  Though  it  is 
ranked  among  Jewish  fancies,  yet  it  is  a  beautiful 
thought  of  Maimonides,  that  the  soul  of  dying  Moses 
was  taken  from  him  by  a  sacred  kiss  of  God.  Of  such 
joy,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  striking  ex- 
ample than  that  afforded  by  the  late  Dr.  Payson. 
"  Were  I,"  says  he,  "  to  adopt  the  figurative  language 
of  Bunyan,  I  might  date  this  letter  from  the  land 
of  Beulah,  of  which  I  have  been  for  some  weeks  a 
happy  inhabitant.  The  celestial  city  is  full  in  my 
view.  Its  glories  beam  upon  me,  its  breezes  fan  me, 
its  odours  are  wafted  to  me,  its  sounds  strike  upoD 


CHRISTIAN   JOY.  20T 

my  ears,  and  its  spirit  is  breatlied  into  my  heart. 
Nothing  separates  me  from  it  but  the  river  of  death, 
which  now  appears  but  as  an  insignificant  rill,  that 
may  be  crossed  at  a  single  step,  whenever  God  shall 
give  permission.  The  Sun  of  Righteousness  has 
been  gradually  drawing  nearer  and  nearer,  appear- 
ing larger  and  brighter  as  he  approached,  and  now 
he  fills  the  whole  hemisphere,  pouring  forth  a  flood 
of  glory,  in  which  I  seem  to  float  like  an  insect  in 
the  beams  of  the  sun ;  exulting,  yet  almost  trem- 
bling, while  I  gaze  on  this  excessive  brightness,  and 
wondering,  with  unutterable  wonder,  why  God 
should  deign  thus  to  shine  upon  a  sinful  worm.  A 
single  heart,  and  a  single  tongue,  seem  altogether 
inadequate  to  my  wants.  I  want  a  whole  heart  for 
every  separate  emotion,  and  a  whole  tongue  to  ex- 
press that  emotion."* 

In  closing  the  discussion,  and  seeking  to  point 
some  appHcation  to  the  mind,  I  shall  not  ask  the 
reader  w^hether  he  is  in  or  out  of  the  visible  church, 
but  exhort  him  to  lay  hold  on  this  exceeding  joy, 
by  drawing  nearer  to  Him  who  bestows  it.  There 
is  a  class — and  he  may  belong  to  it — ^who  have  re- 
ceived from  heaven  no  less  commandment  than  this, 
repeated  again  and  again:  Rejoice — rejoice  always: 
and  again  I  say,  Rejoice.  The  message  of  divine 
love  is  therefore  well  called,  ^'  Tidiags  of  great  joy." 
And  we  live  in  gross  ignorance  or  error,  when  we 
think  of  Christianity  as  abridging  our  comforts,  or 
encouraging  depression  and  gloom.     When  we,  who 

*  Life  of  PaysoB,  p.  355. 


208  CONSOLATION. 

profess  Ckrist,  are  sad  and  disheartened,  it  is  because 
the  flame  of  grace  burns  low.  Were  we  duly  seek- 
ing the  face  of  God,  "  with  joy "  should  we  "  draw 
water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation."  More  eleva- 
tion of  our  gladness  would  make  us  better  Chris- 
tians. It  would  wing  our  flight  into  higher  regions. 
It  would  throw  this  tempting  earth  into  ignomini- 
ous shade.  It  would  cause  our  face  to  shine,  and 
lead  the  men  of  this  world  to  say  (Zech.  8  :  23), 
"  We  will  go  with  you,  for  we  have  heard  that  God 
is  with  you."  But  inasmuch  as  God  is  pleased  to 
deal  with  churches  in  their  collective  capacity,  it  is 
not  common  for  high  enjoyments  to  be  felt  by  indi- 
viduals, when  the  community  of  believers  is  in  a 
state  of  torpor.  What  prayer,  then,  can  be  better  for 
any  particular  church,  than  that  of  the  sons  of  Korah, 
Ps.  85  :  6 :  ^'  Wilt  thou  not  revive  us  again :  that  thy 
people  may  rejoice  in  thee  ?"  In  order  to  insure 
such  joys,  there  must  be  great  prayer,  great  love, 
great  activity,  and  great  holiness.  The  path  before 
us  is  therefore  plain.  We  should  be  unitedly  en« 
gaged  in  seeking  again  the  revival  of  our  graces. 
Nothing  short  of  a  general  and  copious  efiusion  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  on  our  churches,  will  reach  our  case. 
Each  one  should  lament,  and  pray,  "  Restore  unto 
me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation,  and  uphold  me  by  thy 
free  Spirit :  then  will  I  teach  transgressors  thy  way, 
and  sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  thee."  Then  shall 
we  begin  to  hear  the  voice  of  inquiry  renewed. 
Then  shall  numbei^  of  our  beloved  youth,  who  are 
still  fascinated  by  the  false  joys  of  sense,  be  found 


CHEISTIAN   JOY.  209 

coming  into  the  churcli.  Then  shall  strifes  and 
heartburnings  be  banished,  and  heavenly  elevation 
shine  from  every  countenance.  Then  shall  the  heart 
of  the  fathers  be  turned  to  the  children,  and  the 
heart  of  the  children  to  the  fathers.  "  The  meek 
shall  increase  their  joy  in  the  Lord."  Our  "  wilder- 
ness shall  rejoice  with  joy  and  singing."  And  that 
shall  be  true  of  us,  which  was  said  of  Samaria,  when 
it  received  the  gospel :  "  And  there  was  great  joy 
in  that  city."  For  a  time  of  revival  is  a  time  of 
great  joy,  in  all  those  varieties  of  it  which  we  have 
detailed :  joy  in  ourselves ;  joy  in  the  good  of  oth- 
ers ;  and  joy  in  the  glorifying  of  Christ's  name. 
And  many  a  pastor  feels  the  tender  force  of  an  ex- 
pression used  by  Paul  (2  Cor.  1 :  24),  in  application 
to  himself  and  to  all  ministers :  "  Not  that  we  have 
dominion  over  your  faith,  but  are  helpers  of  your 
joy."  Such  help  we  would  fain  render.  For  as  the 
same  apostle  says  (2  Cor.  2  :  2),  every  faithful  pastor 
may  say :  "  If  I  make  you  sorry,  who  is  he  then  that 
maketh  me  glad,  but  the  same  which  is  made  sorry 
by  me  ?"  for,  adds  he,  "  my  joy  is  the  joy  of  you 
all."  Our  interests  are  identical.  An  extended 
blessing  on  the  word  preached  will  reach  to  him  who 
ministers,  and  "  to  you,  and  your  children,  and  to 
all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our 
God  shall  call."  Sowing  and  watering,  without  har- 
vest, is  toilsome  employment ;  but  let  God  speak 
the  word,  and  our  whitening  fields  shall  be  covered 
with  golden  sheaves,  full  of  the  rewards  of  joy: 
John  4 :  36 :  "  He  that  reapeth,  receiveth  wages, 


210  CONSOLATION. 

and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal ;  that  botli  ko 
that  soweth,  and  he  that  reapeth,  may  rejoice  to- 
gether." And  I  trust  we  have  the  prayers  of  many 
a  reader,  that  this  promise  of  Christ,  which  we  have 
been  considering,  may  speedily  be  fulfilled  to  this 
whole  religious  community. 


CONSOLATION  DERIVED  FROM  THE  USES 
OF  CHASTISEMENT. 


TX. 

IT  is  only  in  the  Word  of  God  that  we  learn  to 
consider  affliction  as  a  blessing.  The  utmost  which 
the  most  refined  philosophy  can  eflfect  is  to  remove 
from  our  sorrows  that  which  is  imaginary,  to  divert 
the  attention  from  the  cause  of  distress,  or  to  pro- 
duce a  sullen  and  stoical  resignation,  more  like 
despair  than  hope.  The  religion  of  the  Gospel  grap- 
ples with  the  evil  itself,  overcomes  it,  and  transforms 
it  into  a  blessing.  It  is  by  no  means  included  in  the 
promises  made  to  true  Christians  that  they  shall  be 
exempt  from  suffering.  On  the  contrary,  chastise- 
ment forms  a  necessary  part  of  that  paternal  dis- 
cipline, by  which  our  heavenly  Father  fits  his 
children  for  their  eternal  rest  in  glory.  The  Psalmist 
asserts  the  blessedness  of  the  man  who  is  chastened 
by  the  Lord,  with  this  qualification  as  necessary  to 
constitute  it  a  blessing,  that  he  is  also  instructed  in 
divine  truth.  Psalm  94  :  12.  By  this  we  under- 
stand  that  the  influence  of  chastisement  is  not 
physical;  that  mere  suffering  has  no  inherent  effi- 
cacy ;  but  that  the  afflictions  of  this  life  are,  in  the 
hand  of  God,  instrumental  in  impressing  divine  truth 
upon  the  heart,  awakening  the  attention  of  the  be- 


214  CONSOLATION. 

Uever  to  the  consideration  of  his  own  character  and 
situation,  the  promises  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  re- 
wards of  heaven.  The  child  of  God  is  assured  that 
all  things  work  togeth^  for  his  good ;  in  this  is 
plainly  included  the  pledge,  that  chastisements  and 
afflictions  shall  eventually  prove  a  blessing  ;  and  this 
is  verified  by  the  experience  of  the  whole  Church. 

The  subject  can  scarcely  ever  be  inappropriate. 
We  are  all  familiar  with  suffering,  in  our  persons  or 
the  persons  of  those  whom  we  love :  we  are  either 
now  enduring,  or  shall  at  some  future  time  endure 
severe  afflictions.  Among  our  readers,  it  is  natural 
to  suppose  that  some  are  at  this  very  moment  la- 
bouring imder  burdens  of  grief  Some,  it  may  be, 
are  experiencing  the  infirmities  and  pains  of  a  dis- 
eased body,  others  are  mourning  over  the  loss  of 
friends  and  relatives,  and  others  are  still  living  in 
the  dread  of  trials  yet  to  come.  There  are  few  of 
us  therefore  to  whom  the  inquiry  may  not  be  inter- 
esting. How  is  affliction  a  blessing  ? 

The  question  may  be  thus  answered.  The  chas- 
tisements which  God  inflicts  upon  his  children  are 
profitable  to  them,  as  they  tend  under  the  Divine 
blessing  to  promote  piety  in  the  heart.  Or  more 
particularly,  chastisement  is  useful,  because  it  con- 
vinces the  believer  of  his  helplessness  and  misery 
when  left  to  himself,  and  of  his  entire  dependence 
on  God ;  because  it  leads  him  to  renew  his  repent- 
ance, puts  his  faith  to  the  test,  and  strengthens  his 
Christian  graces ;  because  it  contributes  to  the  ex- 
ercise of  filial  submission,  and  fixes  the  mind  upon 


THE   USES   OF   CHASTISEMENT.  215 

the  heavenly  inheritance.     Let  us,  with  prayer  for 
Divine  assistance,  meditate  upon  these  truths. 

1.  Chastisement  is  useful,  because  it  tends  to  con- 
vince the  believer  of  his  misery,  and  shows  him  that 
without  Christ  he  cannot  be  happy.  And  in  order 
to  bring  this  subject  more  directly  before  the  mind, 
let  us  for  a  moment  consider  our  readers  as  suffering 
under  the  pangs  of  some  great  affliction.  You  will 
at  once  agree  with  us  in  the  position,  that  if  you  had 
more  faith,  you  would  have  less  trouble  of  mind ;  or 
rather  that  if  you  had  faith  sufficient,  you  would  be 
altogether  clear  from  the  deep  impressions  which  lie 
upon  you.  Because  we  very  well  know  from  our 
own  experience,  that  there  are  cases  in  which  the 
most  severe  bodily  pains,  or  mental  distresses,  have, 
so  to  speak,  been  neutralized  by  considerations  of  a 
spiritual  kind.  This  is  exemplified  in  the  history  of 
the  whole  Christian  Church,  and  of  every  individual 
behever,  and  most  remarkably  in  the  sufferings  and 
deaths  of  the  Martyrs.  There  is  then  a  certain  point 
of  elevation  in  divine  trust,  confidence  in  God,  reli- 
ance on  the  providence,  grace,  and  promise  of  God : 
t!hat  is,  a  certain  degree  of  faith,  which  would  en- 
tirely free  you  from  these  trials  of  mind.  We  take 
it  for  granted  that  you  heartily  concur  in  this,  and 
that  you  feel,  at  this  very  moment  of  suffering,  that 
no  gift  of  God  would  so  effectually  bless  you,  as  this 
gift  of  Faith.  Your  trials  and  afflictions,  therefore, 
produce  in  your  soul  a  deep  feeling  of  want.  You 
are  now  sensible  that  you  need  more  of  the  presence 
of  Christ ;  that  your  piety  is  not  in  sufficient  exer- 


216  CONSOLATION. 

cise  to  make  you  happy  under  your  chastisements. 
In  the  moments  when  forebodings  and  fears  become 
most  oppressive,  you  are  most  strongly  impressed 
with  the  truth,  that  you  still  lack  a  great  deal ;  and 
your  desires  are  quickened  for  that  measure  of  faith 
which  shall  enable  you,  with  filial  confidence,  to 
leave  all  in  the  hands  of  God. 

If  these  are  your  feelings,  you  are  now  ready  to 
acknowledge  that  chastisement  has  already  produced 
in  you  one  part  of  its  intended  effect.  You  are 
brought  to  feel  that  you  are  totally  dependent  on  God 
for  your  comfort ;  that  nothing  but  high  measures 
of  piety  can  render  you  independent  of  these  clouds 
of  trial,  and  that  the  attainments  which  you  have 
made  are  insufficient  to  this  end.  You  are  brought 
to  desire  of  God  that  grace  which  shall  be  sufficient 
for  you,  and  to  say  with  the  disciples :  "  Lord,  in- 
crease our  faith  !"  This  is  one  great  end  of  chastise- 
ment, to  humble  man  from  his  self-sufficiency,  and 
make  him  feel,  in  the  most  profound  manner,  that  in 
God  he  lives,  and  moves,  and  has  his  being.  Afflicted 
brethren,  you  never  felt  in  your  hours  of  ease  (we 
venture  to  affirm)  so  fully  dependent  upon  God's 
will,  as  you  do  at  this  present  time.  Perhaps,  if  en- 
tire prosperity  had  continued,  you  would  never  have 
felt  this  persuasion ;  thus  a  most  important  point  is 
gained  in  your  spiritual  progress.  It  is  so  in  this 
respect,  it  prepares  you  for  receiving  the  blessing. 
It  is  not  God's  method,  in  the  ordinary  economy  of 
His  grace,  to  give  favours  of  a  spiritual  kind,  until 
the  soul  feels  its  need  of  them.     He  "will  be  in- 


THE   USES    OF   CHASTISEMENT.  217 

quired  of  for  these  things,"  even  when  he  purposes 
to  vouchsafe  them.  It  is  in  answer  to  earnest  long- 
ings, pantings,  hunge rings  and  thirstings  of  the  spirit, 
that  the  Lord  manifests  himself  in  the  most  remark- 
able  manner.  You  have  been  brought  by  chastise- 
ment to  the  very  point,  where  you  ought  to  desire 
to  be  brought ;  and  where  perhaps  nothing  but  this 
affliction  would  have  brought  you,  the  total  renun- 
ciation of  your  own  strength,  and  the  casting  of 
yourself  ijpon  the  strength  of  God.  Now  you  begin 
more  deeply  to  feel  your  need  of  Christ.  Now  you 
are  convinced  that  something  more  is  necessary  than 
that  vague  and  intermitted  trust  which  you  com- 
monly indulge ;  that  Christ  must  be  embraced  by 
your  faith,  and  not  visited  merely  by  occasional  de- 
votions ;  in  a  word,  that  you  must  constantly  be 
"  looking  to  Jesus." 

If  these  things  are  so ;  if  you  are  persuaded  that 
nothing  except  strong  faith  can  heal  your  wounded 
spirit ;  if  you  are  conscious  that  you  still  lack  such 
faith ;  if  you  earnestly  and  constantly  desire  it ;  the 
question  becomes  exceedingly  interesting  to  you: 
"  Can  I  attain  it  ?"  And  if  this  could  be  at  once 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  to  your  full  satisfaction, 
it  would  go  far  towards  an  entire  banishment  from 
your  soul  of  these  poignant  distresses.  Now  in  pro- 
portion as  your  soul  is  engaged  in  seeking  thi& 
inestimable  blessing,  in  just  that  proportion  will 
your  acts  of  faith  be  increased.  As  Christ  becomes 
more  and  more  present  to  your  mind,  you  will,  with 
more  and  more  confidence,  lean  upon  him  with  son- 


218  CONSOLATION. 

like  assurance.  And,  therefore,  without  endeavom 
ing  to  resolve  the  question,  when,  how,  or  in  what 
precise  manner,  God  will  give  you  the  grace  which 
you  need,  it  is  sufficient  foi  our  present  purpose  to 
know,  that  one  great  end  of  your  affliction  is  answer- 
ed, when  you  are  led  to  commence  and  persevere  in 
a  faithful  and  earnest  application  to  Christ,  as  the 
great  Physician. 

Long  have  you  wandered,  it  may  be,  long  slighted 
this  benevolent  Redeemer.  Like  Israel  ifi  prosper- 
ity, you  have  forgotten  your  Deliverer,  and  have 
grown  restiff  and  rebellious  in  the  rich  pastures  of 
his  goodness.  While  the  skies  were  clear,  and  all 
around  you  was  smiling,  you  were  remiss  in  duty, 
irregular  in  devotion,  lukewarm  in  affection.  Your 
mountain  seemed  to  stand  strong,  and  in  the  delights 
of  present  enjoyment  you  could  say,  "To-morrow 
shall  be  as  to-day,  and  much  more  abundant."  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Master  to  whom  you  had  so  solemnly,  so 
unreservedly  given  yourself,  has  been  cast  into  the 
shade  by  the  worldly  things  on  which  you  have 
doted.  Ah !  how  little  do  Christians  ponder  on  the 
truth,  that  by  their  lives  of  carelessness  they  are  ren- 
dering afflictions  necessary !  While  they  are  at  ease 
m  Zion,  forsaking  their  first  love,  and  declining  from 
the  path  of  strict  piety,  the  cloud  is  gathering  darker 
and  darker  over  their  heads  ;  that  cloud ,  of  judg- 
ment and  of  mercy  which  is  to  drive  them  up  from 
their  unlawful  resting-places,  and  alarm  them  into  a 
renewal  of  their  pilgrimage.  Afflicted  brethren! 
Ye  thought  not,  while  ye  were  at  ease,  that  these 


THE   USES    OF   CHASTISEMENT.  219 

trials  were  in  reserve  for  you,  tliOTigli  often  fore- 
warned by  tlie  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  ex- 
perience of  your  brethren.  The  trial  has  now  come ; 
you  have  now  to  retrace  your  steps ;  you  now  feel 
that  none  but  Christ  can  bring  you  back  to  happi- 
ness ;  and  you  are  humbly  asking  for  the  blessings 
of  his  hand.  Thus  it  is  that  chastisement  convinces 
the  believer  of  his  misery,  and  shows  him  that  afar 
from  the  Saviour  he  can  never  be  at  peace. 

2.  Chastisement  is  useful,  as  it  leads  the  believer 
to  see  and  feel  his  exceeding  sinfulness.  It  is  one  of 
the  strongest  proofs  that  our  sanctification  is  imper- 
fect, and  our  self-love  inordinate,  that  we  are  wrought 
upon  so  much  more  readily  by  stripes  than  by  fa- 
vours. Though  the  Lord's  goodness  ought  to  lead 
us  to  repentance,  yet  we  generally  observe  that  the 
heart  grows  hard  under  the  smiles  of  Providence, 
and  thus  loudly  calls  for  the  necessary  strokes  of 
God's  correcting  hand.  It  is  a  favourable  indication 
of  reigning  grace,  when  any  soul,  in  the  sunshine  of 
great  worldly  prosperity,  is  considerate,  humble,  and 
constant  in  walking  with  God.  In  too  many  cases, 
it  is  far  otherwise.  And  when  sudden  affliction 
breaks  in  a  storm  upon  the  head  of  one  who  has 
been  relapsing  into  carnal  security,  the  surprise  and 
consternation  are  great  and  almost  insupportable. 
After  the  first  tumult  of  the  soul,  it  is  natural  to  look 
around  for  some  solace  or  support ;  and  in  the  case 
of  a  true  Christian,  the  resort  will  at  once  be  to  the 
consolation  of  religion.  Like  the  little  child  which 
strays  from  its  watchful  and  tender  parent,  during 


220  CONSOLATION. 

the  hours  of  play,  but  hastens  back  at  the  approach 
of  alarm,  so  the  believer,  overtaken  by  calamity, 
awakes  from  his  dream,  and  endeavours  to  retrace 
his  steps  to  the  neglected  mercy-seat.  But  ah !  in 
how  many  cases  does  he  here  learn  his  lamentable 
distance  from  God ;  and  how  mournfully  is  he  made 
to  cry,  "  O  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  Him !" 
He  who  is  habitually  walking  with  God  does  not 
suffer  this,  for  the  whole  armour  of  God  protects  him 
from  the  most  unexpected  assaults :  "  he  is  not  afraid 
of  evil  tidings,  his  heart  is  fixed,  trusting  in  the 
Lord  :"  but  the  slumbering  and  lukewarm  professor 
sinks  disheartened.  In  vain  does  he  apply  himself 
to  earthly  solaces  for  alleviation  of  his  grief.  With 
shame,  and  pain  of  conscience,  does  he  endeavour  to 
ask  deliverance  of  his  offended  Father.  Every  pe- 
tition that  he  utters,  is  accompanied  with  a  sense  of 
weakness.  The  blessedness  which  once  he  spake  of 
is  gone ;  the  habit  of  devout  waiting  upon  God  is 
suspended;  the  way  to  the  throne  of  grace  is  ob- 
structed. How  confidently  would  he  offer  his  peti- 
tions, if  he  were  persuaded  of  his  own  acceptance : 
how  gladly  would  he  plead  the  promises,  if  he  felt 
his  title  to  them  secured  in  Christ.  But  alas !  it  is 
not  with  him  as  in  days  that  are  past,  when  the 
candle  of  the  Lord  shone  on  him.  His  mind  haa 
become  attached  to  the  earth;  his  views  of  the 
blessed  Redeemer  are  indistinct;  he  is  convinced 
that  his  strength  has  departed,  that  his  faith  lan- 
guishes, and  that  he  is  defiled  with  sin. 

Now  his  repentings  are  kindled ;  now  he  knowa 


THE    CSES    OF   CHASTISEMENT.  221 

how  evil  and  bitter  a  thing  it  is  to  foi^ake  the  Lord, 
and  to  depart  from  his  fear ;  and  when  he  considers 
how  long  God  has  borne  with  him,  how  many  favours 
he  has  received,  and  how  brutish  has  been  his  ingrat- 
itude, his  heart  is  broken,  his  tears  flow,  he  seeks  the 
lowest  place  in  the  dust  of  abasement,  wonders  that 
affliction  has  not  long  since  overtaken  him  for  his 
carelessness  and  neglect,  and  bows  before  the  Lord 
without  a  murmur.  At  such  a  time,  the  language  of 
the  afflicted  soul  will  be :  "  Wherefore  doth  a  living 
man  complain,  a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins  ? 
Let  us  search  and  try  our  ways,  and  turn  again  unto 
the  Lord.  Let  us  lift  up  our  heart  with  our  hands 
unto  God  in  the  heavens.  We  have  transgressed  and 
have  rebelled  :  thou  hast  not  pardoned.  Thou  hast 
covered  thyself  with  a  cloud,  that  our  prayer  should 
not  pass  through.  Mine  eye  trickleth  down  and 
ceaseth  not,  without  any  intermission,  till  the  Lord 
look  down  and  behold  from  heaven." 

Christian  brethren,  who  have  known  affliction, 
and  have  been  chastened  of  the  Lord,  that  you 
should  not  be  condemned  with  the  world ;  who  have 
suffered  the  loss  of  friends,  of  health,  of  property,  oi 
reputation,  how  often  has  one  hour  of  such  trials 
done  more  to  show  you  your  sins,  and  humble  you 
in  penitence,  than  months  of  ordinary  self-examina- 
tion, or  stated  means  of  grace ! 

When  chastisement  has  its  proper  operation,  the 
Christian  will  seek  not  to  be  comforted  merely,  but 
to  be  taught  of  God.  "  Blessed  is  the  man  whom 
thou  chastenest,  O  Lord,  and  teachest  him  out  of 


222  CONSOLATION. 

thy  law."  He  seeks  to  know  why  God  contends 
with  him,  and  lies  very  low  in  contrition,  when  the 
still  small  voice  of  the  Lord  says  to  him,  "  The  Lord 
hath  a  controversy  with  his  people,  and  he  will  plead 
with  Israel :  O  my  people,  what  have  I  done  unto 
thee?  and  wherein  have  I  wearied  thee?  testify 
?i.gainst  me."  Micah  6.  And  this  exercise  leads  to 
godly  sorrow  which  is  not  to  be  repented  of  It  is 
under  deep  affliction  that  we  feel  most  deeply  the 
connection  between  sin  and  misery,  and  acknowledge 
that  the  connection  is  just  and  holy.  Smarting  un- 
der the  rod,  we  know  that  the  Lord  hath  not  dealt 
with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  rewarded  us  according  to 
our  iniquities ;  and  that  it  is  of  his  mercies  that  we 
are  not  consumed. 

It  was  not  immediately  upon  the  commission  of 
his  atrocious  crime,  that  David  was  humbled ;  but 
when  he  was  chastised  and  smitten  to  the  earth,  hear 
how  he  mourns,  not  so  much  over  his  sufferings  a3 
his  sin :  "  Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  God,  according  to 
thy  loving-kindness ;  according  unto  the  multitude 
of  thy  tender  mercies,  blot  out  my  transgressions. 
Wash  me  thoroughly  from  my  iniquity,  and  cleanse 
me  from  my  sin.  For  I  acknowledge  my  transgres- 
sions, and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me.  Make  me  to 
hear  joy  and  gladness,  that  the  bones  which  thou 
hast  broken  may  rejoice.  Hide  thy  face  from  my 
sins,  and  blot  out  all  my  iniquities.  Create  in  me  a 
clean  heart  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me. 
Cast  me  not  away  from  thy  presence,  and  take  not 
thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me."    Psalm  51. 


THE   USES   OF   CHASTISEMENT.  223 

Times  of  affliction  afford  some  natural  facilities 
for  cultivating  repentance.  Occasions  of  sin  are  then 
removed  :  tlie  world  is  excluded.  The  man  confined 
to  the  silence  of  the  sick  room,  or  the  house  of 
mourning,  cannot  by  idle  pursuits  divert  his  mind. 
He  is  forced  to  think ;  and  to  think  of  his  sins.  He 
considers  his  ways,  bewails  his  transgression,  and  re- 
news his  covenant.  He  learns  to  confess,  "  Surely  it 
is  meet  to  be  said  unto  God,  I  have  borne  chastise- 
ment, I  will  not  offend  any  more ;  that  which  I  see 
not  teach  thou  me :  and  if  I  have  done  iniquity,  I 
will  do  no  more."     Job  34 :  31. 

Now,  in  these  experiences  of  the  afflicted,  there 
is  a  real  consolation.  Such  tears  are  sweet,  and  it 
will  probably  be  the  unanimous  testimony  of  all  true 
penitents,  that  they  have  enjoyed  a  tender  and  re- 
fined delight  in  those  moments  of  grief,  in  which 
they  came  to  God  as  a  forgiving  God,  and  heard  him 
say  to  their  souls,  in  accents  at  once  of  gentle  rebuke 
and  comfort :  "  Behold,  I  have  refined  thee,  but  not 
with  silver ;  I  have  chosen  thee  in  the  furnace  of 
affliction,"  "for  mine  own  sake  will  I  defer  mine 
anger."  "  For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee, 
but  with  great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee.  In  a  little 
wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee  for  a  moment,  but 
with  everlasting  kindness  wiU  I  have  mercy  on  thee, 
saith  the  Lord  thy  Eedeemer."     Isa.  54. 

3.  Chastisement  is  useful  as  a  trial  of  faith. 

To  use  the  expression  of  Bishop  Hall,  "  untried 
faith  is  uncertain  faith."  There  often  is  in  profes- 
sors of  religion  enough  of  the  semblance  of  piety  to 


^•24  CONSOLATION. 

lull  their  consciences  while  they  are  prosperous,  but 
not  enough  of  the  reality  to  support  them  in  time  of 
trial.  Adversity  makes  the  exercise  of  faith  needful, 
and  puts  the  strength  of  that  faith  to  the  test.  It  is 
compared  to  the  fire,  the  furnace,  the  fining-pot  or 
crucible,  because  it  not  only  purifies,  but  tries;  it 
not  only  consumes  the  dross,  but  ascertains  the 
gold. 

There  is  no  true  believer  who  does  not  desire  this 
trial.  The  very  supposition  of  being  found  wanting 
at  the  day  of  judgment  fills  him  with  horror.  His 
daily  supplication  is :  "  Search  me,  O  God,  and  know 
my  heart ;  try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts  ;  and  see 
if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me,  and  lead  me  in 
the  way  everlasting."  Christian  reader,  give  a  mo- 
ment's thought  to  this  question.  Is  your  faith  sufi3.- 
cient  to  support  you  in  the  hour  of  death,  if  that 
hour  (as  is  very  possible)  should  soon  and  suddenly 
arrive  ?  Are  you  not  ready  to  sink  under  ordinary 
afflictions  ?  How  then  will  you  bear  this  greatest  of 
trials  ?  To  adopt  the  language  of  Jeremiah  (12 :  5), 
"  If  thou  hast  run  with  the  footmen,  and  they  have 
wearied  thee,  then  how  canst  thou  contend  with 
horses  ?  And  if,  in  the  land  of  peace,  wherein  thou 
trustedst,  they  wearied  thee,  then  how  wilt  thou  do 
in  the  swellings  of  Jordan  ?" 

This  trial  of  your  faith  is  plainly  important,  and. 
it  is  the  ofiice  of  chastisement  to  constrain  you  to 
such  a  trial.  If  your  standing  in  the  covenant  is  so 
firm,  through  humble  trust  in  God,  that  you  can  say, 
"  But  he  knoweth  the  way  that  I  take :  when  he  hath 


THE   USES    OF   CHASTISEML^^fyr*  --— ^v  /  -^ 

tried  me  I  shall  come  forth  as  gold,"  ym.  are  tappy  ^ 
indeed.      But  this   conviction  is  not   T&ely   to  be-^^ 
strong  in  those  who  have  not  passed  through  theY  a 
furnace.     The  apostle  Peter,  in  comforting  the  dis-  — " 
persed  saints,  explains  to  them  this  end  of  their  chas- 
tisement, "  If  need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness  through 
manifold  temptations,  that   the  tidal  of  your  faith 
being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold  that  perish- 
eth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire,  might  be  found  unto 
praise,  and  honour,  and  glory,  at  the  appearing  of 
Jesus  Christ." 

We  have  already  seen,  in  the  course  of  our  medi- 
tations, some  of  the  ways  in  which  faith  is  tried  by 
affliction.  If  any  be  afflicted  he  will  pray.  But  there 
can  be  no  comfoi't  in  prayer,  where  there  is  not  a 
belief  that  prayer  is  heard,  and  will  be  answered. 
The  supplication  of  one  who  pours  out  strong  crying 
and  tears,  in  a  great  fight  of  afflictions,  is  a  very 
different  thing  from  the  formal  addresses  of  one  at 
ease.  The  sufferer  cannot  be  consoled  until  he  finds 
that  God  is  his  friend ;  he  cannot  find  this  without 
faith ;  and  in  this  manner,  most  directly,  chastise- 
ment convinces  the  soul,  that  it  is  still  unprovided 
with  the  shield  of  faith,  or  awakens  the  exercise  of 
this  grace,  with  great  and  unspeakable  satisfaction. 
And  thus  the  tribulations  which  have  succeeded  one 
another  through  life,  give  us  stronger  and  stronger 
reliance  on  God,  for  the  approaching  hour  of  death. 
At  some  future  day  it  will  be  sweet  to  remember 
how  the  Lord  sealed  us  with  his  Spirit  of  adoption, 
in  these  times  of  trial.  Therefore,  "beloved  breth 
15 


226  CONSOLATION. 

ren,  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fieiy  trial 
which  is  to  try  you,  as,  though  some  strange  thing 
happened  unto  you,  but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are 
partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings  ;  that  when  his  glory 
shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  exceed- 
ing joy." 

4.  Chastisement  is  useful,  as  it  strengthens  faith, 
by  leading  the  believer  to  the  promises,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

There  is  no  expression  in  the  word  of  God  better 
suited  to  reconcile  the  Christian  to  trials,  than  that 
of  the  Apostle  Paul :  ''  He  [that  is,  God]  chastens 
us  for  our  profit,  that  we  may  be  partakers  of  His 
holiness  " — partakers  of  His  holiness !  What  words 
are  these !  This  is  the  very  summit  of  your  desires. 
This  you  have-  been  toiling  for,  and  longing  after. 
This  you  have  earnestly  implored,  and  are  you  now 
ready  to  shrink  from  the  very  means  by  which  your 
Father  in  heaven  is  about  to  promote  your  sancti- 
fication  ?  By  no  means  will  you  be  led  to  relinquish 
this  appointment  of  God  for  your  good.  'Now  it  is 
by  these  very  trials  that  your  graces  are  to  be  in- 
vigorated. 

We  have  seen  that  these  trials  disclose  the  re 
ality  and  degree  of  our  faith.  We  may  go  further, 
and  observe  that  faith  is  greatly  increased  and 
strengthened  by  the  same  process.  Faith  is  strength- 
ened by  exercise.  As  the  touch,  or  any  natural 
faculty,  becomes  obtuse  and  often  useless  by  want  of 
exercise,  or  the  removal  of  its  proper  objects,  so 
faith  languishes  and  seems  ready  to  perish,  when 


THE   USES   OF    CHASTISEMENT.  227 

those  truths  which  are  to  be  believed  are  long  kept 
out  of  the  mind.  The  most  valuable  truths  of  the 
Christian  are  "the  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises."  He  does  not  feel  his  need  of  these  prom- 
ises while  he  is  indulging  in  that  self-pleasing  which 
usually  accompanies  prosperity.  In  penning  these 
lines  we  say  advisedly,  no  man  can  fully  value  health 
who  has  not  been  ill,  nor  appreciate  the  services  of 
the  kind  and  skilful  physician,  until  he  has  been 
healed  by  him.  And  thus  also,  no  man  can  fully 
prize,  or  fully  understand  the  promises  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, until  they  are  made  necessary  to  his  support 
in  adversity.  Many  of  the  most  precious  portions  of 
revelation  are  altogether  a  dead  letter  to  such  as 
have  never  been  exercised  by  the  trials  to  which 
they  relate. 

The  believer  who  is  in  sufferings  or  straits  of  any 
kind,  comes  to  God  by  prayer;  and  in  attempting 
to  pray,  seeks  some  promise  suitable  to  his  precise 
wants.  Blessed  be  God!  he  needs  not  to  search 
long — so  rich  are  the  treasures  of  the  word.  These 
promises  he  takes  as  the  very  truth  of  God.  He 
pleads  them  at  the  throne  of  grace ;  he  believes  them, 
relies  on  them,  rejoices  in  them.  This  is  faith;  these 
exercises  are  vital  exercises  of  the  renewed  soul.  So 
long  as  the  Christian  is  oppressed  with  affliction, 
these  exercises  must  be  continual ;  and  in  propor- 
tion as  the  trial  is  great,  must  the  faith  be  great 
also,  so  that  he  often  finds  every  earthly  support  cut 
away,  and  is  taught,  with  implicit  trust,  to  hang  on 
ihe  simple  word  of  Divine  faithfulness.     This  is  em 


228  CONSOLATION-. 

phatically  tlie  life  of  piety;    and  it  is  enconrag(3d. 
developed,  and  maintained  in  time  of  trial. 

Affliction  is  sanctified  wlien  we  are  made  to  feel 
that  nothing  can  satisfy  us  but  God,  and  when  we 
actually  wait  upon  God,  and  rely  on  Him  as  our 
only  hope.  It  is  then  that  the  Christian  finds  the 
promises  confirmed  to  him :  "  Whom  the  Lord  loveth 
he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he 
receiveth."  "  No  chastening  for  the  present  is  joyous, 
but  grievous,"  &c.  Then  he  rolls  his  burden  on  the 
Lord,  commits  his  way  to  him,  leans  upon  Him, 
trusts  in  Him  with  all  his  heart,  so  that  with  a  mean- 
ing altogether  new,  he  can  sing  with  the  Church ; 
"  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help 
in  trouble :  therefore  will  we  not  fear,  though  the 
earth  be  removed,  and  though  the  mountains  be 
carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea." 

Some  appear  to  entertain  the  mistaken  opinion 
that  the  only  relief  which  is  afibrded  to  the  Chris- 
tian in  suffering,  must  arise  from  some  hope  of  speedy 
deliverance  or  escape.  This  is  so  far  from  being  true, 
that  perhaps  the  greatest  solace  under  afflictions  is 
derived  from  direct  acts  of  faith  upon  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  communion  with  Him ;  in  which  the  soul 
is  so  much  absorbed  that  the  present  suffering  is  for 
gotten,  and  the  mind  wholly  occupied  in  its  exercises 
of  piety.  And  herein  the  chastisement  is  profitable. 
In  pain,  and  despondency,  and  grief,  we  go  to  Jesua 
as  to  a  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother : 
we  pour  our  sorrows  into  his  friendly  ear,  and  ask 
hip  aid,  and  then,  when  he  reveals  to  us  his  love,  and 


THE    USES    OF   OHASTISEMENT.  229 

speaks  liis  promises,  and  unveils  his  face,  even  though 
he  give  no  assurance  that  we  shall  be  set  free,  he 
does  more, — he  gives  us  Himself^  and  faith  is  refresh- 
ed and  nourished  by  receiving  him.  And  shall  we 
not  regard  as  a  mercy,  that  illness,  or  that  bereave- 
ment, or  that  alarm,  which  so  embitters  the  world's 
cup,  as  to  lead  us  to  Christ,  that  we  may  see  his 
beauty,  and  be  filled  with  his  love  ? 

Prosperity  leaves  us  to  wander,  and  offers  temp- 
tations to  wandering.  Afflictions  alarm  us  and  drive 
us  back  to  the  right  path.  Prosperity  casts  a  glit- 
tering but  delusive  veil  over  divine  realities,  and  en- 
courages unbelief  Afflictions  rend  and  destroy  this 
covering,  and  show  us  the  truths  of  another  world. 
Prosperity  seldom  leads  to  increase  of  faith.  Afflic- 
tion, by  God's  blessing,  is  in  many  cases  made  the 
instrument  of  sanctification  to  such  as  are  truly  pious. 

Dear  Brethren,  that  God  who  "  doth  not  afflict 
willingly,  nor  grieve  the  children  of  men,"  offers  you 
in  your  trials  these  ''  peaceable  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness." Taste  of  the  sweetness  of  his  promises,  and 
each  of  you  shall  say  with  David :  "  It  is  good  for  me 
that  I  have  been  afflicted." 

5.  Chastisement  is  useful,  because  it  leads  the 
believer  to  exercise  entire  submission  to  the  Divine 
will. 

It  is  an  undeniable  truth,  and  one  of  which  the 
child  of  God  is  very  deeply  convinced,  that  "  the 
Lord  reigneth ;"  that  it  is  infinitely  right  and  fit  that 
he  should  reign ;  and  that  the  first  duty  of  every 
intelligent  being,  is  to  submit  promptly,  cheerfully, 


230  CONSOLATION. 

and  unreservedly  to  every  ordinance  and  dispenssf 
tion  of  God.  It  is  not  very  difficult  to  keep  tlie  soul 
in  correspondence  witli  this  truth,  so  long  as  our  self- 
love  is  not  interfered  with,  nor  our  present  happiness 
invaded ;  but  when  the  sovereignty  of  God  is  mani- 
fested in  despoiling  us  of  our  most  precious  posses- 
sions and  delights,  our  souls  are  often  ready  to  falter, 
and  our  weakness  betrays  itself,  when  with  hesita- 
ting lips  we  endeavour  to  say,  "  Shall  not  the  Judge 
of  all  the  earth  do  right  ?"  It  is  common  to  hear 
those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  Scriptures  cavilling  at 
the  representation  of  Job  as  a  man  of  eminent 
patience  ;  but  where,  except  in  his  biography,  shall 
we  look  for  the  instance  of  a  man,  suffering  in  one 
day  the  total  loss  of  immense  wealth,  and  of  ten  be- 
loved children,  and  still  saying,  "  The  Lord  gave,  and 
the  Lord  hath  taken  away,  blessed  be  the  name  of 
the  Lord." 

Without  exercise.  Christian  graces  do  not  grow, 
and  severe  afflictions  are  probably  intended  to  culti- 
vate this  important  grace  of  entire  submission.  Noth- 
ing is  more  common  than  for  persons  under  chastise- 
ment to  indulge  in  such  thoughts  as  these  :  "I  could 
endure  almost  any  affliction  better  than  this ;  it  is 
that  which  I  have  most  dreaded,  for  which  I  was 
least  prepared,  and  now  it  has  overtaken  me !  It  is 
so  strange,  new,  and  unexampled,  that  I  am  unman- 
ned, and  my  soul  sinks  within  me."  These  are  the 
symptoms  of  a  rebellious  and  unsubdued  will ;  the 
murmurings  of  a  proud  and  stubborn  heart,  which 
mvst  be  humbled  in  the  dust     This  is  just  the  trial 


THE   USES   OF    CHASTISEMENT.  281 

by  which,  perhaps,  God  graciously  intends  to  bring 
down  the  imaginations  and  high  thoughts  of  your 
soul  into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ.  And 
patience  will  not  have  had  its  perfect  work  in  any 
case,  until  the  afflicted  soul  is  prepared  to  make  no 
reservation,  to  claim  no  direction,  but  to  give  up  all 
into  the  haads  of  the  most  wise,  most  righteous,  and 
most  merciful  Creator.  K  the  suffering  were  less,  it 
would  not  have  this  humbling  efficacy,  and  he  mis- 
takes the  nature  of  the  covenant,  who  supposes  that 
such  peculiar  trials  are  excluded.  It  was,  no  doubt, 
a  visitation  sudden  and  alarming  as  a  stroke  of  light- 
ning, when  Aaron  beheld  his  sons  consumed  by  fire 
from  the  Lord.  It  was  an  awful  sanction  to  that 
rule,  ^'  I  will  be  sanctified  in  them  that  come  nigh 
me,  and  before  all  the  people  I  will  be  glorified." 
Yet,  on  seeing  and  hearing  these  things,  the  bereav- 
ed father  "  held  his  peace."  Lev.  10  :  3.  It  is  a 
bitter  medicine,  but  the  soul  which  is  convinced  of 
God's  justice  and  goodness,  lays  down  every  thought 
of  rebellion  and  discontent. 

When,  in  the  time  of  the  Judges,  the  children  of 
Israel  gave  themselves  up  in  a  shameless  manner  to 
the  worship  of  idols,  they  fell  under  the  wrath  of 
God,  and  were  eighteen  years  oppressed  by  the 
Ammonites  and  Philistines.  Still,  when  they  came 
to  themselves,  and  cried  to  the  Lord,  they  joined  to 
their  repentance  lowly  submission,  and  said,  "We 
have  sinned ;  do  thou  unto  us  whatsoever  seemeth 
good  unto  thee."     Judges  10. 

This  is  the  temper  which  sanctified  affliction  al 


232  CONSOLATION. 

ways  begets,  so  that  the  prostrate  soul  dares  no 
longer  to  impose  terms  on  Jehovah,  but  yields  itself 
to  his  sovereign  discretion.  There  is  peace  in  such 
a  surrender,  a  peace  which  is  altogether  independent 
of  any  expected  mitigation  of  the  stroke. 

Wave  after  wave  often  goes  over  the  child  of 
God,  before  he  is  brought  to  this  state  of  self-renun- 
ciation. Murmuring  may  for  a  time  prevail,  yet  the 
Great  Physician,  who  applies  the  painful  remedy, 
cannot  be  baffled,  and  triumphs  to  his  own  glory 
and  the  unspeakable  benefit  of  the  believer's  soul 
The  Scriptures  afford  us  striking  examples  of  this 
yielding  up  of  every  thing  into  the  hands  of  God ; 
particularly  in  the  case  of  David,  whose  history  and 
experience  are  given  in  detail.  One  of  the  sharpest 
inflictions  which  fell  upon  this  pious  man,  was  the 
rebellion  of  his  unnatural  son,  Absalom ;  and  one  of 
the  most  affecting  scenes  in  the  course  of  this  trans- 
=iction,  is  the  flight  of  the  aged  king  with  the  ark : 
'  All  the  country  wept  with  a  loud  voice,  and  all  the 
people  passed  over."  Now,  what  was  the  language 
of  David  under  these  circumstances?  "The  King 
said  unto  Zadok :  Carry  back  the  ark  of  God  into 
the  city ;  if  I  shall  find  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord,  he  will  bring  me  again,  and  show  me  both  it 
and  his  habitation ;  and  if  he  thus  say,  I  have  no 
delight  in  thee,  behold  here  am  I,  let  him  do  unto 
me  as  seemeth  good  unto  Him."  2  Samuel  15:  26. 
Now,  we  have  here  exemplified  the  very  frame  of 
soul  which  each  of  us  should  endeavour  to  maintain 
under  chastisement.     For  we  are  not  to  speak  thus, 


THE    USES   OF   CHASTISEMENT.  233 

"  I  can  bear  this  because  it  cannot  be  avoided,  or, 
because  I  liope  it  is  the  last  of  my  sufferings."  ISTo, 
my  brethren,  we  are  not  thus  to  limit  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel;  but  let  each  of  us  with  filial  homage 
say,  "  Lord,  I  am  in  thy  hands,  in  the  best  hands,  I 
deserve  thy  stripes,  I  yield  myself  to  thy  dispensa- 
tions, thy  will  be  done !"  Happy  is  he  who,  hke 
David,  can  look  back  upon  chastisements  and  say, 
'•  I  was  dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  because  thou 
didst  it."     Ps.  39. 

"  Humble  yourselves,  therefore,  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God,  that  He  may  exalt  you  in  due  time ;" 
yet,  if  his  rod  should  long  abide  upon  you,  if  you  are 
ready,  like  Job,  to  cry,  from  repeated  and  continued 
strokes,  "He  hath  set  me  up  for  his  mark.  He 
breaketh  me  with  breach  upon  breach.  He  hath 
fenced  up  my  way  so  that  I  cannot  pass,  and  he  hath 
set  darkness  in  my  paths ;"  yet  even  then,  "  remem- 
ber the  patience  of  Job,  and  the  end  of  the  Lord," 
and  say,  "  Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in 
him." 

Some  may  be  disposed  to  think,  in  the  time  when 
all  God's  waves  and  billows  go  over  them,  that  they 
could  acquiesce  and  be  comforted,  if  they  perceived 
any  way  of  escape,  if  they  could  reasonably  expect 
deliverance :  and  this  is  the  whole  of  what  is  some- 
times called  Christian  resignation.  Yet  the  comfort 
in  this  case  is  merely  worldly.  The  grace  of  God  can 
do  more  than  this ;  it  can  make  you  willing  still  to 
endure,  and  in  enduring  still  to  praise. 

Say  not,  "  I  could  be  content  if  I  were  sure  of 


234  CONSOLATION. 

deliverance."  God  has  not  promised  absolutely  to  re- 
move the  chastisement.  Perhaps  it  is  his  holy  will  not 
to  deliver.  Perhaps  it  is  this  very  thing  in  your  af- 
flictions which  is  to  insure  you  the  blessing  from  the 
Lord.  The  apostle  Paul  earnestly  desired,  and  thrice 
besought  the  Lord  to  deliver  him  from  that  trial 
which  he  calls  the  thorn  in  his  flesh,  the  messenger 
of  Satan  to  buffet  him.  Yet,  as  far  as  we  are  in- 
formed, it  was  continued  to  the  end  of  his  life.  But 
mark  the  glorious  indemnification :  "  My  grace  is  suffi- 
cient for  thee,  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in 
weakness."  Upon  this  declaration,  which  we  shall 
presently  consider  more  in  detail,  he  goes  forward 
under  his  burden,  singing  as  he  pursues  his  pilgrim- 
age :  "  Most  gladly,  therefore,  will  I  rather  glory  in 
my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest 
upon  me ;  therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in 
reproaches,  in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in  distresses, 
for  Christ's  sake,  for  when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I 
strong."  The  sweet  support  under  every  possible 
calamity  is,  that  God  can  turn  it  into  a  blessing,  and 
that  if  we  have  faith  he  will  do  so.  With  respect, 
therefore,  to  the  use  of  afflictions^  "  all  things  are 
possible  to  him  that  believeth." 

6.  Finally.  Chastisement  is  useful,  because  it 
leads  the  behever  to  look  for  complete  happiness  in 
heaven  only. 

And  at  this  stage  of  our  reflections,  let  us  rejoice, 
dear  brethren,  that  the  consolation  ofiered  is  liable  to 
no  exception  or  abatement ;  it  is  adapted  to  every 
case ;  perfect  and  entire.     If  the  comfort  which  you 


THE    USES   OF   CHASTISEMENT.  235 

need  depended  upon  tlie  hope  of  deliverance  in  this 
world,  there  would  be  many  cases  which  we  should 
be  forced  to  leave  as  hopeless :  for  there  are  many 
in  which  no  expectation  of  exemption  in  this  life  can 
be  indulged.  But  let  the  worst,  most  lingering,  and 
most  aggravated  instance  of  suffering  be  pi'esented, 
and  the  hope  of  heaven  is  still  sufficient  to  mitigate 
its  ills.  You  may  have  been  reduced  to  hopeless 
poverty ;  you  may  have  suffered  from  the  treachery 
and  ingratitude  of  supposed  friends,  from  cruel 
mockings  and  persevering  calumny ;  you  may  labour 
under  incurable  disease,  or  follow  to  the  grave  be- 
loved objects  of  your  affections,  who  can  never  be 
replaced  in  this  world.  Still,  there  is  a  country,  and 
you  are  rapidly  approaching  it,  "  where  the  wicked 
cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest."  It 
is  well  if  you  have  learned  to  look  beyond  all  secon- 
dary, earthly,  imperfect  comforts,  to  God,  the  source 
of  good,  and  to  that  world  where  all  tears  are  wiped 
away.  It  is  well  if  the  trial  of  your  faith  has  enabled 
you  to  say,  "I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and 
am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I 
have  committed  to  him  against  that  day." 

This  is  a  benefit  of  affliction,  which  is  striking 
and  great  in  proportion  to  the  failure  of  earthly  con- 
solation. For  it  may  be  doubted,  whether  any  man 
fully  yields  himself  up  to  the  view  and  prelibation  of 
heaven,  until  he  is  disentangled  and  rent  away  from 
all  hope  of  blessedness  on  this  side  the  grave.  It  is 
natural  to  seek  resting-places  by  the  way ;  and  trials, 
osses,   sufferings,  bereavements,  are  thrice  blessed 


236  CONSOLATION. 

when  they  engrave  upon  our  hearts  that  we  have 
here  no  continuing  city,  but  must  seek  one  above. 
So  long  as  we  can  flatter  ourselves  with  any  refuge 
in  this  world,  we  are  prone  to  lean  on  an  arm  of 
flesh,  and  to  look  upwards  only  for  the  supply  of 
what  is  deficient  here.  But  let  all  expectation  of 
worldly  peace  and  satisfaction  be  cut  off,  and  the  re- 
leased soul  which  is  truly  sanctified  and  full  of  faith, 
rises  like  a  bird  from  the  snare,  and  rejoices  to  say, 
"  My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon  God,  for  my  expec- 
tation is  from  him.  Then  shall  I  be  satisfied  when  I 
awake  in  thy  likeness!"  Think  not,  however,  to 
enjoy  this  fruit  of  chastisement,  while  you  cast  long- 
ing and  lingering  looks  on  that  country  whence  you 
came  out.  Nothing  but  the  hope  of  a  glorious  res- 
urrection upheld  the  apostle  Paul,  when  troubled 
on  every  side,  perplexed,  persecuted,  cast  down,  and 
(as  to  the  outward  man)  perishing.  Hear  the  method 
of  his  escape  out  of^  sorrow :  "  Our  light  affliction, 
which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 

He  is  the  happy  man  who  dwells  most  on  the 
thoughts  of  heaven.  Like  Enoch  he  walks  with 
God.  Like  Job  he  can  say,  "  I  know  that  my  Ee- 
ieemer  liveth,"  &c.  Like  Dav^d  he  glories,  "  Thou 
v-ilt  show  me  thy  salvation."  Like  Paul  he  triumphs, 
For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,"  &c. 

This  happiness  we  sometimes  witness ;  but  where 
have  we  found  it  ?  In  the  house  of  prosperity, 
where  death  has  never  invaded  the  family  circle ; 
where  all  have  more  than  heart  could  wish ;  where 


THE   USES    OF   CHASTISEMENT.  23*^ 

health,  and  opulence,  and  honoui  unite  to  expel  all 
care  ?  No !  but  in  the  hovel  of  the  poor,  where  one 
affliction  hath  followed  another,  till  earthly  hope  is 
almost  extinct.  In  the  darkened  chamber  of  mourn- 
ing, whence  all  that  was  most  loved  and  cherished 
has  taken  its  last  flight.  In  the  bed  of  lingering, 
incurable  disease,  and  in  the  very  gasp  of  death ! 
Here  religion  hath  set  up  her  trophies ;  here  is  hap- 
piness, here,  where  things  hoped  for  are  substan- 
tiated to  the  believing  soul,  where  things  unseen  are 
evidenced  to  faith  by  divine  influence. 

In  every  case  of  suffering  it  is  the  prime  wisdom 
01  the  Christian  to  ^  his  eyes  upon  the  heavenly 
crown.  In  every  other  hope  you  may  be  disappoint- 
ed, in  this  you  cannot.  Try,  as  you  may,  all  other 
fountains  for  your  solace,  there  is  a  time  coming 
when  you  must  be  driven  to  this.  Become  familiar 
with  the  meditation  of  heavenly  glory !  Daily  con- 
template that  joyful  deliveraitce  from  evil,  that  in- 
dissoluble and  ecstatic  union  with  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ !  Then,  when  death  lays  upon  you  his  cold 
hand,  you  can  say,  ^'  I  am  prepared  for  this  hour.  I 
have  longed  for  this  deliverance  to  meet  my  Lord 
in  his  temple.  I  have  lived  in  communion  with  the 
blessed  Lord  of  heaven."  "Lo,  this  is  my  God,  I 
have  waited  for  him,  and  he  will  save  me ;  this  is  the 
Lord,  I  have  waited  for  him ;  I  wiU  rejoice  and  be 
glad  in  his  salvation." 


THE  HOLY   SUBMISSION  OF  CHEISTP 

WILL  CONSIDERED  AS  A  SOURCE 

OF  CONSOLATION. 


^ 


X. 


<£* 


THE  very  name  Geihsemane  carries  remembran- 
ces wMcli  sadden  the  demeanour  and  fill  the  eyes. 
How  can  we  draw  near  to  it?  Especially,  how  can 
we  withdraw  the  curtain  and  expose  the  divine  hu- 
miliations of  that  hour,  when  we  know  so  well  how 
many  have  already  gazed  carelessly  on  every  pang 
of  the  Son  of  God,  until  they  are  hardened  like  the 
nether  millstone  ?  And  this  is  one  reason  why  we 
shall  not  attempt  a  picture  of  that  scene ;  but  after 
a  hurried  glance  at  the  series  of  events,  will  single 
out  one  expression  as  our  theme.  Every  reader 
will  remember  that  the  disciples  had  risen  from  their 
couches  in  the  guest  chamber  of  Jerusalem,  and 
joining  in  a  hymn,  had  descended  into  the  little  val- 
ley, which  on  the  east  separates  the  city  from  Olivet ; 
and  in  that  valley  had  found,  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill,  the  garden  now  so  memorable.  It  was  just  out 
of  Jerusalem,  over  the  brook  Kedron,  between  the 
brook  and  the  place  where  the  mount  begins  to  as- 
cend. It  was  a  spot  to  which  Jesus  was  accustomed 
to  resort  for  solitude  and  devotion  :  and  the  fact  is 
connected  with  his  betrayal.  He  caused  the  eleven 
to  sit  down  and  pray,  while  he  went  further  onward 
16 


242  CONSOLATION. 

to  pray  also.  Three  of  tlie  number  were  more  pri- 
vileged. They  went  to  his  more  secluded  retire- 
ment, and  were  witnesses  of  his  agony.  The  terms 
which  describe  this  have  an  awfulness  which  belongs 
to  no  other  words  in  Scripture.  "  His  soal  was  ex- 
ceeding sorrowful ;"  immersed  in  sorrow ;  in  death- 
sorrow.  It  was  an  indescribable  and  unearthly  suf- 
fering, mingled  with  tears,  and  cries,  and  blood,  and 
angelic  appearance.  It  was  an  hour  of  agony — the 
hour.  Mark  14  :  35.  He  was  fallen  on  the  ground, 
and  the  unseen  cup  was  at  his  lips.  All  the  strug- 
gles and  wrestlings  of  the  universe  are  nothing  to 
this.  Here  is  Divinity  in  conflict  with  itself.  Here 
is  the  Father  bruising  the  Son.  Here  is  God  the 
Saviour,  as  it  were,  contending  with  God  the  Just, 
lest  the  sinner  should  have  what  he  deserves.  Here 
is  manhood  exalted  to  be  the  vehicle  of  divine  atone- 
ments, and  Godhead  upholding  the  only  nature  that 
could  die.  Here  is  the  fainting,  sinking,  forsaken 
Messiah,  still  looking  up,  and  crying,  "  Abba,  Father." 
"  Abba."  It  is  the  word  of  the  babe,  when  first  in 
that  dialect  he  knows  the  filial  language,  and  reads 
the  father's  soul  in  his  eyes ;  the  simplest  articula 
tion  of  language ;  the  most  trustful  outburst  of  af 
fection — "  Abba,  Father."  It  is  the  recognition  of 
supreme  power  and  Godhead :  "  All  things  are  pos- 
sible to  thee."  It  is  the  cry  of  nature  sufi^ering  in 
its  profoundest  depths,  and  exclaiming  for  help,  or 
rescue,  or  alleviation,  in  the  moment  of  anguish,  and 
pressed  by  unutterable  woes.  "  Take  aw-ay  this  cup 
from  me !"    It  is,  nevertheless,  the  total,  instant,  ab 


SUBMISSION    OF   CHRIST.  243 

Bolute  subjection  of  tlie  whole  spirit  to  Jehovali: 
"  JSrevei^tlieless,  not  wliat  I  will,  but  what  thou  wilt !" 
The  proposition  to  be  considered  is  this:  Tlie 
svbmission  of  Christ^ s  will  to  the  will  of  God  is  the 
great  atoning  act^  and  the  motive  and  j^attern  for  owr 
mibmission^  and  the  source  of  our  consolation, 

1.  The  person  here  humbled  is  to  he  regarded. 
It  is  not  the  absolute  Jehovah,  who  has  neither  parts 
nor  passions,  and  who  is  to  all  eternity  insusceptible 
of  change  or  pain.  It  is  not  any  one  person  of  the 
adorable  Triune  Godhead,  considered  absolutely,  se- 
parately, and  in  respect  to  his  divine  nature.  Such 
acts  and  sufferings  as  those  to  which  we  ascribe 
atonement  seem  to  have  required  a  suffering  adjunct, 
that  is,  a  human  body  and  soul,  in  order  to  be  possi- 
ble ;  and  such  acts^and  sufferings  alone  vindicate  the 
Incarnation.  ISTor  yet  was  it  man,  simple,  naked 
man :  no,  not  the  greatest,  best,  purest,  holiest,  love- 
liest, heavenliest  of  mere  men ;  priest,  king,  or  pro- 
phet; — ^it  was  not  a  bare  teacher,  a  superior  Jew, 
Jesus,  son  of  Mary,  who  was  subjecting  himself  to 
God.  Such  subjection  as  this  would  indeed  have 
been  good  and  admirable,  but  finite,  and  unworthy 
of  occupying  this  distinct,  prominent,  and  mysterious 
place  in  the  gospel  annals.  A  thousand  martyrs 
have  suffered,  without  a  murmur,  like  this;  yet 
their  sufferings  had  nothing  vicarious,  nothing  pe- 
nal, nothing  meritorious.  The  personage  who  here 
submits  his  will  to  the  will  of  absolute  Divinity, 
that  is  to  Law,  in  its  subHmest  sense;  to  infinite 
right ;  the  personage  who  endures  and  obeys  •,  who 


244  CONSOLATION. 

shrinks  iu  torture,  and  yet  looks  up  in  love;  who 
dies  of  a  thousand  griefs,  yet  bathes  with  tears  the 
Father's  hand  which  smites,  is  without  any  complete 
parallel  in  heaven  or  earth,  in  time  or  eternity.  He 
stands  alone ;  for  the  exempt  case,  the  unprecedent- 
ed juncture  in  the  world's  history,  demanded  the 
appearance  of  one  unlike  all  others.  Hence  the  im- 
possibility of  explanation  in  regard  to  this  mystery. 
All  explanation  lifts  up  the  mind  to  the  desired 
height  by  means  of  some  truth  of  likeness,  some  ana- 
logy, some  similitude.  Here  there  is  no  analogy,  no 
similitude:  likeness  fails,  and  so  does  explanation. 
God  may  be  likened  to  God,  and  man  to  man ;  but 
the  resulting  Christ — God  and  man  in  one  ever- 
abiding  union — is  comparable,  in  regard  to  this  union, 
to  nothing  in  this  world  or  that  which  is  to  come. 
The  very  term  Person^  not  found  in  Scripture,  but 
adopted  by  catholic  usage,  from  a  very  early  age, 
testifies  to  the  necessity  felt  for  some  new  phrase 
to  mark  a  new  relation,  and  guard  against  a  new 
error.  Hence  the  early  creeds  multiplied  words  to 
prevent  any  one  from  supposing  either  that  there 
was  but  one  nature  in  Christ,  as  if  the  divine  and 
the  human  were  intermingled,  so  as  to  leave  no  hu- 
man  nature  and  no  divine  nature,  but  a  third  es- 
sence betwixt  the  two ;  or  that  there  are  two  per- 
sons, a  personal  Godhead  united  to  a  personal  man- 
hood— a  God  and  a  man ;  these  early  formularies 
opposed  themselves  to  both  errors,  maintaining  the 
truth  with  a  fulness  which  savoured  of  tautology. 
"  Who,  although  he  be  God  and  Man,  yeC  he  is  not 


SUBMISSION   OF   CHRIST.  246 

two,  but  one  Christ.  Oae,  not  by  the  conversion  of 
the  Godhead  into  flesh,  but  by  taking  of  the  man- 
hood into  God.  One  altogether,  not  by  confusion 
of  substance,  but  by  unity  of  Person." 

In  contemplating  this  holy  mystery  we  must  not 
look  too  closely  into  the  ark,  nor  endeavour  with 
niceness  of  scholastic  distinctions  to  separate  what 
is  divine  from  what  is  human  in  the  person  or  the 
work  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  To  us,  and  for  our 
salvation,  he  is  "  One  Lord^''  and  it  is  enough  for  us 
to  look  on  his  deeds  and  atonement  as  proceeding 
from  one  indivisible  and  glorious  Person,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  In  a  sense,  all  he  does  and  all  he  suf- 
fers is  divine,  inasmuch  as  the  divinity  sustains  all, 
the  divinity  concurs  in  all,  and  the  divinity  gives 
merit  and  infinitude  to  all.  It  is  the  Son  of  God, 
who  prays.  Standing  as  Mediator,  between  all  that 
is  purely  God,  and  aU  that  is  purely  man,  himself 
God-man,  he  offers  up  the  tribute  of  a  will  absolutely 
and  unspeakably  surrendered  to  the  infinite  will. 
The  prayer  which  He  himself  prompted  was  never 
so  uttered  as  by  him  in  the  garden,  "  Thy  will  be 
done  !"     Which  leads  me  to  remark, 

2.  There  was  in  our  Lord,  in  the  garden,  a  strug- 
gle between  Ms  innocent  nature  and  the  will  of  the 
AhnightAj  Father.  The  words  are  plain  —  "Take 
away  this  cup  from  me ;  nevertheless,  not  what  I 
will  but  what  Thou  wilt."  If  there  was  no  struggle 
there  could  be  no  meaning  in  such  words.  There 
was  a  cup,  brought  to  his  lips,  which  he  was  ex- 
pected to  drink,  and  which  the  Almighty  Father 


246  CONSOLATION. 

c.oramanded  him  to  drink,  but  which  neverthelesa 
was  so  repugnant  to  all  the  instinctive  feelings  of 
nature,  as  to  be  the  cause  of  those  ineffable  fears 
and  griefs  and  astonishments.  There  was  present  a 
suffering  nature,  a  part  which  could  sigh  and  grieve ; 
a  voluntary  nature,  which  could  accept  or  reject ;  a 
loving  nature,  which  could  yearn  with  godlike  affec- 
tion and  pity  for  the  salvation  of  a  world  of  be- 
lievei'S  ;  and  a  subdued  and  holy  nature,  which  gave 
up  all  for  the  honour  and  glory  of  infinite  justice. 
It  was  a  vicarious  work  from  first  to  last  in  which 
Christ  was  engaged ;  that  is,  he  was  acting  for 
others,  not  for  himself  Human  nature  would  never 
have  been  assumed,  unless  to  lift  up  that  human  na- 
ture from  its  sunken  condition.  To  carry  man  up  to 
God,  it  was  necessary  for  God  to  become  man.  It 
was  not  enough  that  God  should  decree  the  sancti- 
fication  of  the  fallen.  Something  besides  sanctifica- 
tion  was  demanded,  something  more  than  the  pre 
sent,  actual  holiness  of  the  creature.  This,  it  is  true, 
was  intended,  as  a  grand  result ;  but  before  this  some- 
thing  must  be  done.  A  legal  obstacle  lies  in  the 
way,  which  must  be  removed.  There  is  a  claim  of 
Law,  which  must  be  satisfied.  For  this  sanctifica- 
tion  the  Son  of  God  became  man  ;  to  satisfy  in  the 
nature  which  had  offended.  The  will  of  the  race 
has  become  opposed  to  the  will  of  God  :  this  is  only 
another  way  of  saying  the  race  has  sinned.  There 
is  an  awful  and  irreversible  penalty.  Not  for  an  in 
stant  will  I  admit  that  God's  threatenings  are  meant 
Dnly  for  alarm  and  not  for  execution.     They  are 


SUBMISSION   OF   CHRIST.        /7>*       ^4^ 

executed,  with  direful  condign  vengeanc^viii  tlie  fall 
of  Lucifer,  in  the  fall  of  Adam,  in  the  Deluge,  in  the 
cities  of  the  plain ;  as  they  will  be  in  the  retribu- 
tions of  the  Last  Judgment.  In  all  and  each  of 
these.  Divine  Justice  burns  forth  to  the  execution 
of  threatened  penalty.  In  none  of  these  instances 
would  such  penalty  be  inflicted,  if  threatening  could 
be  set  aside  without  fulfihnent.  Perfect  subjection 
of  will  in  our  Surety,  without  any  struggle,  would 
have  been  infinitely  holy,  would  have  been  immea- 
surable obedience,  and  would  have  fulfilled  the  law 
in  a  way  of  active  righteousness  ;  but  it  would  not 
have  been  endurance  of  legal  pains ;  it  would  not 
have  answered  the  vindicatory  part  of  the  law,  and 
it  would  not  have  exhibited  to  the  universe  the  high 
spectacle  of  the  Son  of  God  subjected  to  anguish  for 
the  sinner's  sake.  Hence  the  necessity  for  the  strug- 
gle of  which  we  have  spoken.  The  yoke  is  borne, 
and  it  is  felt  to  be  a  yoke.  The  cup  is  bitter,  or  it 
would  not  be  a  cup  of  atonement.  The  genuine 
though  perfect  humanity  of  the  Eedeemer,  having 
all  the  instinctive  love  of  ease  and  hatred  of  pain 
which  belongs  to  humanity,  turns  pale  and  shudders, 
and  sinks  and  groans  and  dissolves  in  blood,  before 
it  drinks  this  cup :  —  yet  drinks  it !  A  total  in- 
stantaneous subjugation  of  Christ's  will  to  the  will 
of  God,  of  such  a  nature  as  to  overwhelm  and  drink 
up  the  native  propensities,  such  as  to  cast  out  all 
pain — would  not  have  been  endurance  of  penalty. 
Hence  the  need  of  shrinking,  repugnance,  and  strug 
gle,  in  the  suffering  subject.     Hence  was  there  wrung 


248  CONSOLATION. 

from  our  divine  Eedeemer  the  cry — "  Father,  if  it 
be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me !"  In  our 
view,  that  vrhich  is  essential  to  atonement  is  the  bear- 
ing of  sin,  that  is,  the  bearing  of  penalty.  And  we 
stop  short,  and  content  ourselves  with  light,  insuffi- 
cient views  of  the  part  sustained  by  Christ,  when 
we  do  not  include  in  our  thoughts  the  crushing  of 
the  human  nature  (which  would  have  been  its  anni- 
hilation but  for  the  sustaining  power  of  divinity), 
under  the  weight  of  legal  pains  endured  representa- 
tively and  vicariously.  There  was  a  force  drawing 
the  will  of  Jesus  away  from  the  cup  of  anguish, 
which  force  we  must  in  some  degree  appreciate,  be- 
fore we  can  duly  esteem  the  glory  of  his  drinking 
it  up.  This  was  the  struggle  of  Christ's  will,  in 
Gethsemane. 

3.  Notwithstanding  this  struggle,  there  ivas  a 
perfect  submission  of  Christ s  will  to  the  will  of  the 
Father,  "  Nevertheless,  not  what  I  will,  but  what  thou 
wilt."  The  length  of  foregoing  repugnance  is  a  matter 
not  revealed.  That  there  was  no  moment  in  which 
the  holy  submission  of  our  Saviour  gave  way,  is  cer- 
tain. That  the  grace  of  a  loving  subjugation  to  law 
transfused  itself  through  the  whole  of  the  sinkings  and 
agonies  of  nature,  so  that  the  two  coexisted  at  every 
instant,  is  most  probable.  Through  the  whole,  there 
was  so  much  of  weakness  as  to  insure  pain,  our  sac- 
rificial pain :  through  the  whole,  there  was  so  much 
of  acquiescence  as  to  insure  obedience,  our  vicarious 
obedience.  And  who  does  not  know  that  even 
in   the    lesser   world   of  human  affection,   and   in 


BUP^ITSSION    OF   CHEIST.  249 

many  a  domestic  hour,  love  and  pain  may  be  so 
blended  as  to  be  the  very  warp  and  woof  of  our 
heart's  existence ;  pain  being  still  pain,  yet  embraced 
even  with  transport,  and  chosen  without  a  lingering 
hesitation,  for  the  sake  of  the  beloved  object ;  as 
when  the  mother  suffers  for  her  offspring — the  fa- 
ther for  the  son — the  wife  for  the  husband — the 
brother  for  the  brother!  And  shall  we  wonder 
when  He  in  whom  are  gathered  up  the  glory  and 
beauty  of  all  virtues,  graces,  and  exalted  benignities, 
stoops  to  taste  the  cup  which  our  sins  had  pre- 
pared !  It  is  the  crowning  act  of  his  life  of  submis- 
sion, on  which  he  is  now  entering.  In  a  certain 
sense,  the  whole  period,  from  his  birth  till  his  resur- 
rection, was  one  series  of  humiliation,  one  subjection 
to  covenant,  one  tribute  of  obedience,  one  satisfac- 
tion to  law,  and  one  Righteousness.  In  the  same 
sense,  this  whole  period  was  one  submission  of  will ; 
because  there  is  no  obedience  but  of  will.  But, 
nevertheless,  this  permanent  obedience  of  our 
Mediator  for  our  sakes  does  at  certain  epochs 
reach  a  point  of  oveidiowing,  which  reveals  the 
same  more  fully  to  us ;  as  in  the  garden,  the  arrest, 
the  trial,  and  the  cross.  Infinite  are  the  mysteries 
of  that  piacular  suffering  and  submission,  which 
were  passing  within  the  darkened  chamber  of 
Christ's  soul,  and  which  no  finite  mind  can  ever 
comprehend!  Not  more  private  and  inaccessible 
was  the  Sanctum  Sanctorum.,  than  this  Holy  of 
Holies  of  our  Atoning  God  and  Elder  Brother.  The 
little  that  we  know  is,  that  he  suffers  and  submits. 


/ 


250  CONSOLATION. 

This  is  enougli.  This  is  the  bowing  down  of  the 
v\ll,  the  federal,  vicarious,  mediatory  will,  to  the  law 
which  we  had  injured ;  to  the  law  in  its  twofold  power, 
as  commanding  and  as  smiting.  It  is  the  will,  the 
stubborn,  impious  will,  which  in  us  fights  against  God, 
and  by  all  human  power  is  unconquerable.  It  is 
the  will  that  does  all  of  sin  that  is  active,  that 
rejects  salvation,  and  that  damns  the  soul.  It  is 
the  will,  the  God-defying  will,  which  now,  this 
day,  in  some  who  read,  deliberately  sets  itself 
against  the  Most  High  God.  It  is  the  will  which 
Jesus  Christ,  amidst  an  ocean  of  contending  griefs, 
offers  up,  steeped  in  death  and  humbling,  pure  and 
unresisting,  unto  God  for  us.  And  though  he  made 
this  offering  a  thousand  and  a  thousand  times  during 
the  course  of  his  mediatory  tabernacling  among  us, 
and  though  there  was  no  instant  in  which  he  made 
it  not ;  yet  at  certain  moments  he  did  more  formally 
and  observably  consummate  this  surrender  of  self; 
and  this  is  one  of  them.  It  is  the  completest,  as  it 
is  the  most  stupendous,  oblation  unto  God  which  the 
universe  has  beheld.  In  all  its  parts,  it  forms  the 
theme  of  eternal  thought  and  songs.  "  Not  my  will, 
but  thine  be  done."  In  a  certain  sense  it  might 
have  been  avoided ;  for  God  the  Father  is  omnipo- 
tent ;  but  not  in  any  sense  which  would  not  have 
left  us  in  hell.  In  regard  to  the  manner  of  help,  it 
might  have  been  avoided.  "  Thinkest  thou  that  I 
cannot  now  pray  to  my  Father,  and  he  shall  pre- 
sently give  me  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?" 
Matt.  26  :  51.     "  Put  up  thy  sword  into  the  sheath ; 


•^  SUBMISSION   OF   CHRIST.  251 

the  cup  wLich  my  Father  hatli  given  me,  shall  I  not 
drink  it?"  John  18  :  11.  It  might  have  been 
avoided,  in  respect  to  power,  but  not  in  respect  to 
love.  "  Abba,  Father,  all  things  are  possible  unto 
thee :  take  away  this  cup  from  me ;  nevertheless, 
not  what  I  will,  but  what  thou  wilt !  "  What  thou 
wilt !  Here  is  the  supreme  and  infinite  and  eternal 
will  which  binds  the  universe.  What  thou  wilt ! 
Here  is  the  divine  will  which,  if  unopposed,  would 
have  kept  an  eternal  universe  in  happiness,  but 
which  was  violated  by  sin.  Here  is  the  will,  which 
all  nature  obeys,  but  which  devils  and  men  have 
outraged  and  defied.  Here  is  the  will  which  is  dear 
to  all  holy  intelligences,  and  infinitely  dear  to  the 
Son  of  God,  the  holiest  of  intelHgences ;  to  this 
will,  therefore,  he  submits  himself  at  once  and  irre- 
vocably, though  it  costs  him  the  greatest  sacrifice 
which  has  been  known  in  all  worlds.  This  obedi- 
ence, even  unto  death,  is  the  atonement.  It  is  a 
satisfaction  of  infinite  value  made  to  the  will  of 
Jehovah,  that  is,  to  Justice.  It  is  an  oblation  both 
of  doing  and  of  suffering.  It  fills  the  cup  of  duty ; 
it  exhausts  the  cup  of  penalty.  It  meekly  says  to 
Almighty  Justice,  "Thy  will  be  done."  It  does 
this,  not  in  some  remote  planet,  or  distant  circle  of 
heaven ;  though  in  such  regions  there  are  perpetual 
tributes  to  the  Infinite  Will.  Such  would  have  been 
pleasing  to  God,  but  would  have  availed  nothing  to 
our  earth.  Here,  on  this  accursed  orb,  the  satisfac- 
tion was  rendered.  It  is  not  a  submission  of  will, 
by  some  supei  angelic  being  unrelated  to  ourselves^ 


252  CONSOLATION. 

nor  a  declaration  solely  of  God's  hatred  against  sin  : 
it  is  an  offering  up  .  of  an  immaculate,  law-fulfilling, 
covenanted  obedience  of  act  and  suffering,  in  our 
human  nature,  by  one  who  is  chosen  as  the  head  of 
our  human  nature  ;  who  assumed  our  human  na- 
ture for  this  very  end,  and  who  in  every  deed, 
groan,  teai*.  pang,  and  drop  of  blood,  acts  in  and 
for  our  human  nature;  so  that  for  all  purposes 
of  atonement,  we  then  and  there  obey  and  suffer 
in  Christ,  as  truly  as  in  Eden  we  disobeyed  and 
suffered  in  Adam.  So  far,  therefore,  from  being 
unjust  for  God  to  impute  to  us  the  acts  and  expia- 
tory pains  of  Christ,  his  subjection  of  will  to  God  as 
(if  they  were)  our  own  acts  and  pains,  it  is  beauti- 
fully and  gloriously  and  infinitely  just,  inasmuch  as 
these  are  the  acts  and  pains  of  One  who  is  our  Head. 
Christ  performs  the  whole  mediatory  work  as  the 
head  of  a  great  moral  person,  his  Church.  He  is  as 
truly  connected  with  all  the  members  as  our  head 
or  heart  is  with  our  extremities.  Christ's  satisfac- 
tion is  our  satisfaction.  "  If  one  died  for  all,  then 
all  died."^  If  one  lives,  all  live.  When  that  glo- 
rious submission  of  will  to  God  takes  place,  the  law 
is  satisfied  by  a  federal  compliance,  which  for  ever 
cuts  off  all  payment  of  that  debt  by  those  means. 

4.  The  submission  of  our  Lord  amidst  this  in 
conceivable  struggle  is  the  pattern  and  motive  for 
ov/r  submission  to  God's  will.  So  beautiful  a  sight, 
to  those  who  account  moral  perfection  the  great- 
est beauty,  was  never  presented,  as  in  the   spot 

*  See  the  original. 


SUBMISSION    OF   CHEIST.  253 

less  obedience  of  Jesus;  and  so  pre-eminent  a  part  of 
that  obedience  is  nowbere  displayed  as  in  tbis  clos- 
ing nigbt  and  day  of  bis  life  of  bumiliation ;  and  in 
tbese  bours  of  agony,  no  single  moment  is  more  in- 
tensely ballowed  and  subduing  tban  tbat  in  wbicb 
be  cried,  "  Nevertbeless,  not  wbat  I  will,  but  wbat 
tbou  wilt." 

I  seem  to  bebold  all  beaven  bending  down  to 
wards  a  world  on  wbicb  for  forty  centuries  tbere 
bas  not  been  one  immaculate  object,  to  concentrate 
its  gaze  on  tbe  "  Man  of  Sorrows."  "  Tbese  tbings 
tbe  angels  desire  to  look  into :"  tbey  cannot  imitate, 
tbougb  tbey  admire.  Tbey  "  adore  and  burn  ;"  but 
sucb  stretcbes  of  benevolence  are  beyond  tbeir  reacb. 
Angels  cannot  suffer :  tbey  bave  not  become  incar- 
nate. Sucb  struggles  are  wondrous  to  tbem.  Glad- 
ly does  one  of  tbem  descend  to  Getbsemane,  and 
appear  "  strengtbening  bim."  Tbis  is  a  love  wbicb 
bas  been  tbe  grand  attraction  of  tbe  cburcb  in  all 
ages,  and  wbicb  we  celebrate  in  a  sacrament. 
It  is  love  in  its  bigbest  exaltation ;  suffering  love ; 
tearful,  bleeding,  dying  love.  As  you  drew  near 
and  meditated  on  it  at  tbat  table,  did  your  beart 
melt,  O  my  brotber !  to  consider  tbat  it  was  for 
you  and  for  your  sins  tbat  tbis  unexampled  act  of 
submission  was  put  fortb  ?  And  as  you  ventured  to 
stretcb  out  your  band  to  tbe  bread  of  tbe  sacrament 
and  tbe  cup  of  blessing,  did  you  try  to  measure 
your  obligation  ?  Ab,  you  found  it  immeasurable  ! 
By  all  tbe  legal  submissions  of  Jesus  Cbrist  your 
Lord,  and  especially  by  all  tbe  untold  agonies  of  tbat 


254  CONSOLATION. 

hour  of  darkness,  when  the  sword  of  Jehovah  awoke 
against  his  fellow,  and  smote  the  Shepherd ;  by  all 
his  profound  obedience  of  soul,  you  lie  bound  also 
to  obey.  From  every  drop  of  that  precious  blood, 
the  voice  comes  to  you,  "Submit  yourselves  unto 
God."  No  thunder  of  Sinai  can  so  move  the  will 
as  these  gentle  groans  of  your  beloved  Saviour  in 
his  woe.  That  rebellious  will,  which  is  perpetually 
offending  and  resisting,  and  which  you  mourn  over 
as  your  chief  calamity,  the  plague  of  your  heart,  the 
serpent  in  your  bosom,  never,  never  yields  to  bare 
Law.  Obligation  may  be  felt ;  it  is  felt  in  hell ;  it 
produces  the  fear  of  h^ll :  "  the  devils  also  believe 
and  tremble ;"  but  obligation  does  not  convert.  If 
you  have  ever  fled  to  Jesus  with  the  intolerable  bur- 
den of  your  sins,  you  know  this.  You  know  that 
the  denunciations  of  penal  vengeance,  often  repeat- 
ed, produced  only  sullen  aversion,  and  maddened 
your  sense  of  inability,  sometimes  even  to  despair. 
You  became  afraid  to  look  toward  the  fiery  mount 
and  the  tables  of  the  law  ;  for  so  often  as  you  look- 
ed, you  sinned ;  and  so  often  as  you  strove  to  amend, 
you  sinned  the  more ;  and  though  your  conscience 
was  lashed  into  exacerbation  of  remorse,  your  heart 
acknowledged  no  true  submission  to  the  God  whom 
you  had  offended.  But  when  from  the  mount  that 
might  be  touched,  and  that  burned  with  fire,  and 
blackness,  and  darkness,  and  tempest,  and  trumpet, 
and  terrible  words,  which  made  you  exceedingly 
fear  and  quake,  you  were  gently  led  aside,  and 
brought  to  this  Zion,  to  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the 


SUBMISSION   OF   CHRIST.  255 

New  Covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling; 
wlien  here  you  were  made  to  behold  the  incarnate 
Son  of  God  bending  his  will  (at  vast,  unspeakable 
cost  of  glory  and  happiness)  to  that  law  which  you 
would  not  fulfil,  obeying  that  precept  which  you  had 
trampled  under  foot;  and  himself  enduring  those 
pangs  which  you  had  merited ;  and  when,  in  addi- 
tion to  all  this,  and  above  all  this,  you  saw  this 
same  Jesus  turning  to  you^  (ungodly  and  rejecting 
sinner  as  you  were,)  and  as  it  were  drenched  in  the 
blood  which  you  had  shed,  and  offering  to  you  the 
full  value  of  the  atonement  to  which  you  had  con- 
strained him ;  then,  then,  the  mountain  of  ice  began 
to  melt ;  then  the  full  soul  began  to  flow  down  in 
rivers  of  penitential  tenderness.  Christ  had  con- 
quered, and  you  were  his ;  and  as  he  bore  you  away 
in  triumph,  subdued  by  the  power  of  his  compas- 
sions, you  vowed  that  after  the  example  of  this  di- 
vine subimssion,  you  also  would  submit  your  will  to 
God.  For  Christ's  submission  is  not  only  our  motive, 
but  our  pattern.  Here  is  our  example;  here  we 
learn  that  greatest,  hardest  lesson  of  Christianity,  to 
say,  "  Not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt."  It  is  parti 
cularly  learnt  in  time  of  affliction  and  bereavement  ; 
in  the  chamber  of  illness  and  mourning;  in  the  al- 
tered scenes  of  sudden  depression  and  overthrow ;  in 
the  downhill  of  friendless  old  age  and  poverty.  Then 
you  hear  God  saying :  "  Should  it  be  according  to 
thy  mind  V  If  God  had  let  you  have  your  own 
way;  if  he  had  let  your  riches  remain;  if  he  had 
spared  those  whom  you  are  now  naourning  for ;  if  he 


256  CONSOLATION. 

had  confirmed  your  liealtli ;  if  he  had  put  an  end  to 
your  fears ;  if  he  had  granted  you  all  your  fond  de- 
sires, how,  I  pray,  my  dear,  suffering  fellow-Chris- 
tian, could  you  ever  have  learnt  that  lesson  which 
you  are  now  learning  ?  How  could  you  ever  have 
had  any  sympathy  with  the  submissive  Son  of  God  ? 
You  sometimes  think  thus,  I  dare  say :  "  O  if  I  could 
only  do  some  great  work  for  Christ !  If  I  could 
only  strike  some  blow,  achieve  some  exploit,  brave 
some  peril."  But  let  me  assure  you,  you  may  as 
certainly  and  fully  glorify  Christ  by  submission  as 
'by  act.  Make  sure  that  you  are  called  to  suffer,  and 
you  may  even  glory  in  it  by  submission.  I  could 
repeat  to  you  the  famous  old  heathen  saying,  that 
"  a  good  man  struggling  with  adversity  is  a  sight 
worthy  of  the  gods ;"  but  I  prefer  to  say,  that  you 
are  never  so  pleasing  to  God,  and  hence  so  like  your 
adorable  Redeemer,  as  when  you  are  surrendering 
yourself  unreservedly  to  the  providential  hand  of 
Him  who  doeth  all  things  well.  Still  say,  though 
all  his  waves  and  his  billows  go  over  you,  "  Though 
he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him  !"  When  trials 
grow  heavier  and  more  frequent,  remember  Him, 
who  under  the  greatest  and  heaviest  trial,  still  look- 
ed up,  and  said,  "  Abba,  Father,  all  things  are  pos- 
sible unto  thee :  take  away  this  cup  from  me ;  ne- 
vertheless not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt !" 

Let  me,  in  conclusion,  entreat  those  who  feel 
themselves  ignorant  of  these  experiences,  to  reflect 
on  the  opposition  of  their  will  to  God.  See  what 
a  change  has  yet  to  be  wrought  in  you.     Is  it  not 


SUBMISSION   OF   CHRIST.  257 

time  to  begin?  Is  there  not  motive  to  begin? 
Wliat  is  it  that  is  ruining  you  ?  If  (as  is  probable 
from  your  present  habit  of  mind)  your  soul  should 
be  among  those  at  the  left  hand  of  the  Judge  at  the 
last  day,  what,  so  fai  as  you  now  can  judge,  will 
have  been  the  cause  of  your  condemnation  ?  What 
is  it  that  is  now  dragging  you  hellward  with  so  dire 
a  fascination  ?  What  is  it  for  which  you  are  selling 
your  soul  ?  Seek  for  it  in  your  morning  thoughts ; 
seek  for  it  in  your  musings  by  the  way ;  seek  for  it 
in  your  watches  and  your  dreams.  Bring  out  to 
view  that  which  you  are  choosing  before  Christ ;  and 
when  you  have  looked  at  the  idol,  whether  of  lust, 
or  pride,  or  power,  or  money ;  ask  yourselves  whe- 
ther in  this  you  have  reasonable  cause  to  trample 
on  the  blood  of  a  dying  Eedeemer,  and  to  forswear 
the  heaven  which  he  has  purchased  by  his  submit 
sion. 


It 


CONSOLATION  PKOM  GOD'S  PROMISE 
NEVER  TO  FORSAKE. 


XI. 


As  if  it  were  not  enough  tliat  God  has  given  us 
his  Son,  and  with  him  all  things,  we  are  cim- 
tinually  repining  and  distrusting.  Not  instructed 
by  a  thousand  instances  in  our  past  lives,  in  which 
God  has  extricated  us  from  difficulties,  and  been 
better  to  us  than  all  our  fears,  and  forgetful  of  the 
great  fact  in  our  history  that  not  one  good  thing 
hath  failed,  of  all  that  the  Lord  promised,  we  act 
over  again  the  murmurings  and  the  incredulity  of 
Israel  in  the  desert.  "  They  forgat  God  their  Sa- 
viour." "Yea,  they  despised  the  pleasant  land, 
they  believed  not  his  word,  but  murmured  in  their 
tents,  and  hearkened  not  unto  the  voice  ox  the 
Lord."  Ps.  106.  In  such  circumstances,  it  would  be 
(nfinitely  just  in  God,  to  take  us  at  our  word,  and 
leave  us  to  sink  in  our  own  unbelief,  and  suffer  all 
we  fear ;  but  blessed  be  his  holy  name,  his  ways 
are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  his  thoughts  as  our  thoughts. 
He  condescends  to  reason  with  the  wayward,  ungrate- 
ful child,  and  to  bring  his  promises  into  view.  So 
in  that  remarkable  passage  of  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, in  regard  to  anxieties  about  temporal  sup 


262  •    CONSOLATION. 

port,  tlie  apostle  says,  "  Be  content  with  such  things 
as  ye  have ;  for  He  hath  said,  I  will  never  leave 
thee  nor  forsake  theeP  It  is  not  certain  what  parti- 
cular passage  of  the  Old  Testament  is  here  quoted, 
for  such  are  the  riches  of  promise  that  the  mean- 
ing is  found  in  many  passages.  The  reference  may 
l)e  to  the  case  of  Abraham  (Gen.  28 :  15) :  "  And 
behold  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  keep  thee  in  al] 
places  whither  thou  goest, — ^for  I  will  not  leave  thee, 
until  I  have  done  that  which  I  have  spoken  to  thee 
of"  Or  to  the  case  of  collective  Israel :  (Deut.  31 : 
6) :  "  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage,  fear  not, 
nor  be  afraid  of  them,  for  the  Lord  thy  God,  he  it 
is  that  doth  go  with  thee  ;  he  will  not  fail  thee,  nor 
foi'sake  thee." 

There  is  a  gracious  mystery  about  covenant  pro- 
mises, which  we  should  earnestly  seek  to  understand. 
What  God  promises  to  any  one  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment saints,  he  promises  to  every  behever,  with  such 
modification  as  suits  his  particular  case.  For  all 
iiiBse  promises  are  different  leaves  of  the  same  tree 
of  life,  different  expressions  of  the  same  covenant  of 
grace.  In  this  sense,  whatsoever  things  were  writ- 
ten aforetime,  were  written  for  our  learning,  that 
we  through  scriptural  patience  and  comfort  might 
have  hope.  It  is  in  this  way  that  thousands  of  be- 
lievers have  drunk  at  the  same  fountain  ;  and  what 
God  said  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  has  been 
the  refreshment  of  many  souls  in  all  generations* 
This  principle  of  interpreting  promises  is  implied 
in    the    verse   just    quoted.      The    apostle  clearly 


GOD   WILL   NOT   FOBSAKE.  268 

invites  all  Christians  to  receive,  collectively  and  in- 
dividually, that  comprehensive  promise,  which  may 
originally  have  been  addressed  to  an  indi^ddual  or 
to  "  the  church  in  the  wilderness."  He  gives  it  a 
form  so  general  that  it  is  not  so  much  one  promise, 
as  all  promises  in  one.  And  he  adds  a  force  of  as- 
severation, which  our  language  cannot  reach ;  for  in 
the  Greek  these  few  words  contain  no  less  than  ^ve 
negatives  ;  to  give  the  full  force  of  which  we  should 
have  to  read  it  thus :  "  I  will  never,  never  leave 
thee,  I  will  never,  never,  never  forsake  thee."  The 
precious  truth  therefore  which  I  commend  to  you 
for  all  coming  years,  is  this :  God  engages  in  cove- 
nant, to  be  with  the  believer,  for  all  needful  good, 
now,  henceforth,  and  for  ever.* 

When  God  says  that  he  will  never  leave,  it  is  of 
course  a  promise  to  be  ever  present.  But  this  means 
more  than  that  omnipresence  which  reaches  equally 
to  all  creatures.  This  indeed  sustains  their  existence, 
but  does  not  insure  their  happiness;  because  the 
worst  and  most  wretched  of  men  might  say  with 
the  Psalmist,  "If  I  make  my  bed  in  hell^  behold 
thou  art  there !"  It  means  more  than  that  provi- 
dential sustentation  and  help,  in  regard  to  which 
God  causeth  his  sun  to  rise  and  his  rain  to  fall,  on 
the  evil  and  the  good.  It  is  not  only  a  benignant 
and  bountiful  but  a  gracious  presence,  founded  on 
the  provisions  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  God  will 
not  forsake  his  Son,  the  head  of  the  mystical  body, 
and  therefore  he  will  not  forsake  any  one  of  those 

*  Ov  firj  (re  avca,  ov5'  ov  firj  a€  ey/caraXiVo). 


264  CONSOLATION. 

who  are  joined  to  his  Son.  Let  us  clearly  appre- 
hend this  connection.  There  is  no  gracious  dealing 
with  any,  but  through  the  Mediator.  There  is  no 
adoption  of  any,  but  in  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father.  There  are  none  reconciled,  but  through 
the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world.  There  are  none  accepted,  but  "  in  the  Be- 
loved." All  the  wealth  of  blessing  is  treasured  in 
his  hand  ;  and  in  him  all  the  promises  ai'e  Yea,  and 
in  him  Amen.  Which  will  serve  to  answer  a  ques- 
tion that  no  doubt  has  been  rising  in  the  reader's 
mind,  to  wit.  To  whom  is  the  promise  of  the  text 
made  ?  It  is  made  to  believers,  and  to  none  others. 
To  all  men,  without  exception,  God  is  loving  and 
bountiful ;  but  his  promise  never  to  forsake  is  made 
ko  such  only  as  by  receiving  Christ  make  all  the 
promises  their  own.  That  God  will  leave  and  for- 
sake the  finally  impenitent,  and  that  to  all  eternity, 
is  a  truth  which  ought  to  thunder  in  the  ear  of 
every  ungodly  reader. 

How  can  I  expound  such  a  promise  as  this  ?  It  is 
simple  and  clear  as  light.  It  needs  not  so  much  ex- 
position, as  belief  and  application.  It  is  not  the 
promise  of  one  blessing,  but  of  all.  It  does  not 
BO  much  say  what  God  will  do,  as  declare  that  there 
is  nothing  which  he  will  not  do.  The  Lord  God  is 
a  sun  and  shield ;  no  good  thing  will  he  withhold 
from  them  that  walk  uprightly.  In  these  words  he 
offers  not  simply  his  gifts,  but  himself.  Whatever 
there  is  in  God  of  help  and  comfort,  is  herein  made 
over  to  the  believer,  through  Christ  Jesus  .  for  he 


GOD   WILL   NOT   FORSAKE.  265 

says,  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee.  It 
contains  provision  for  body  and  for  soul,  in  life,  in 
death,  and  in  eternity.  It  covers  every  instance, 
addresses  itself  to  every  character,  and  meets  every 
emergency.  Resting  on  the  veracity  of  Jehovah,  it 
needs  no  proof.  Rising  beyond  all  qualification 
and  exception,  it  requires  no  elaborate  comment. 
But  it  does  require  to  be  illustrated  and  amplified, 
so  that  it  may  be  seen  to  apply  to  our  several  cases. 
As  originally  urged,  it  was  addressed  to  those 
early  Christians  who  were  in  worldly  straits.  "  Let 
your  conversation  be  without  covetousness ;  and  be 
content  with  such  things  as  ye  have."  To  the 
Church,  Christ  says,  "  The  poor  ye  have  always  with 
you."  In  primitive  days,  a  large  proportion  both 
of  preachers  and  hearers  were  literally  poor.  To 
the  poor  the  gospel  is  preached.  God  hath  chosen 
the  poor  rich  in  faith.  It  has  been  so  in  all  ages ; 
it  is  so  at  the  present  time.  Some  who  read  this  at 
once  make  the  case  their  own.  At  those  seasons  of 
the  year,  when  careful  persons  look  into  their  affaijs, 
balance  their  books,  take  account  of  their  stock,  and 
provide  for  their  liabilities,  there  are  many  whose 
hearts  fail  them.  The  future  is  very  dark  in  respect 
to  their  daily  bread.  Such  cases  are  not  beneath 
the  notice  of  Him  who  feedeth  the  young  ravens ; 
they  should  not  be  neglected  by  the  Christian  dis- 
ciple. Let  such  rejoice  to  know  that  their  accounts 
are  audited  in  heaven.  As  their  cry  is,  "  Give  us 
this  day  our  daily  bread,"  so  the  answer  is,  "  Thy 
bread  shall  be  given  thee,  and  thy  water  shall  be 


266  CONSOLATION. 

sure."  Cast  all  your  care  upon  him,  for  lie  careth 
for  you,  and  gives  you  this  as  the  primary  and  lite- 
ral meaning  of  the  promise,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee 
nor  forsake  thee." 

But  the  supply  of  food  and  raiment  is  not  the 
only  temporal  blessing  which  a  believer  may  want. 
Other  things  there  are,  connected  with  health  and 
illness,  cheerfulness  of  temper,  place  of  abode,  safety 
by  land  and  sea,  treatment  by  friends,  neighbours, 
or  enemies,  social  relations,  connections  in  life,  among 
parents,  children,  husband  and  wife,  master  and  ser- 
vant, education,  learning,  good  name  among  men, 
strength  for  labour ;  in  a  word,  all  the  lights  and 
^ades  of  our  common  journey ;  all  these  awaken 
our  solicitude ;  and  in  regard  to  all,  our  only  secu- 
rity is  in  having  God  with  us.  This  he  graciously 
promises.  It  is  our  part  to  lay  hold  on  this  immu- 
table word.  It  has  been  the  stay  of  thousands — ^it 
is  strong  enough  to  be  ours. 

Mark  well  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  promise : 
God  does  not  say  you  shall  have  no  afflictions,  or 
tlfat  you  shall  never  fear,  or  that  his  presence  shell 
never  be  doubted.  Indeed,  in  other  places,  he  says 
the  very  reverse.  '^  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribu- 
lation, but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the 
world."  Ah,  brethren,  we  are  sometimes  brought 
into  perils,  where  we  need  a  new,  special,  and  divine 
application  of  the  promise  to  our  hearts,  or  we  sink 
into  despair.  The  trial  seems  unlike  all  we  ever  had 
before,  and  all  that  others  have  endured.  The 
enemy  whispers,  "  There  is  no  help  for  him  in  God/ 


GOD   WILL  NOT  FORSAKE.  267 

The  sun  of  your  common  day  has  set  in  clouds. 
The  stars  of  your  common  night  are  hidden.  The 
wind  howls  tempestuously,  and  the  sea  is  chafed  into 
deadly  fury.  Youi-  helm  is  ])roken,  your  sail  rent, 
and  your  bark  all  but  foundered.  The  only  light  is 
the  lurid  flash,  and  perdition  opens  its  chasm  to 
swallow  you  up.  I  specify  not  the  sort  of  affliction : 
your  own  heart  will  tell  you  that;  and  it  makes 
no  difference  here.  One  in  ancient  times,  in  such  a 
case,  could  say,  "  For  thou  hadst  cast  me  into  the 
deep,  in  the  midst  of  the  seas ;  and  the  floods  com- 
passed me  about ;  all  thy  billows  and  thy  waves 
passed  over  me.  Then  I  said,  I  am  cast  out  of  thy 
sight ;  yet  will  I  look  again  toward  thy  holy  tem- 
ple." The  thought  of  God  in  such  moments  affords 
the  only  hope.  And  it  is  heard,  above  all  the  com- 
motion of  the  elements,  saying,  "It  is  I,  be  not 
afraid !"  God  does  not  forsake  his  people  in  their 
extremities ;  if  he  should  do  so,  all  would  be  despair. 
As  if  to  prepare  them  for  extraordinary  encounters, 
he  often  throws  his  promise  into  a  form  which  indi- 
cates great  and  sore  trial ;  thus  showing  us  that  no 
one  is  to  be  dismayed,  or  to  doubt  his  loving-kind- 
ness, because  danger  is  great  and  imminent.  It  is 
not  said.  Thou  shalt  never  be  in  pestilence ;  but  it  is 
said,  "A  thousand  shall  fall  at  thy  side,  and  ten 
thousand  at  thy  right  hand,  but  it  shall  not  come 
nigh  thee!"  It  is  not  said.  Thou  shalt  never  go 
through  Are  and  flood ;  but  it  is  said,  "  When  thou 
passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee ; 
and  through  r  vers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee." 


268  CONSOLATION^-. 

You  may  not  promise  yourself  that  you  shall  nevei 
be  an  orphan;  but  you  may  declare  assuredly, 
"  When  my  father  and  mother  forsake  me,  then  the 
Lord  will  take  me  up,"  that  is,  he  will  never  leave 
me,  nor  forsake  me.  ^ 

The  promise  before  us  fully  justifies  the  per 
suasion  that  there  is  no  variety  of  character,  no  stage 
of  life,  no  peculiarity  of  temporal  distress  in  which 
the  believer  may  not  count  on  God's  presence,  pro- 
tection, aid,  deliverance,  and  comfort.  And  a  believ- 
ing view  of  this  will  give  our  religion  such  a  cast, 
that  it  will  be  our  habit  of  soul  to  rejoice  in  God 
himself,  rather  than  in  his  gifts.  Still  the  song  will 
arise :  "  Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  nei- 
ther shall  fruit  be  in  the  vines ;  the  labour  of  the 
olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields  shall  yield  no  meat ;  the 
flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold,  and  there  shall 
be  no  herd  in  the  stalls ;  yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the 
Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation." 

That  God  does  not  forsake  his  people  is  a  foun- 
dation-truth of  religion,  established  by  the  history 
of  all  saints,  in  Scripture,  and  in  the  later  Church. 
Innumerable  are  the  instances  in  which  their  greatest 
extremity  has  been  the  juncture  of  his  gracious  in- 
terposition. So  it  was  with  Abraham,  when  his 
hand  was  stretched  out  over  the  son  of  promise,  in 
his  greatest  earthly  trial ;  and  ever  since  the  name 
of  the  place  has  been  a  holy  watchword,  Jehovah- 
Jireh :  "  In  the  mount  of  the  Lord  it  shall  be  seen." 
If  this  presence  had  a  single  moment  of  intermis- 
sion, that  might  be  the  moment  of  ruin  ;  but  "  I  will 


GOD    WILL   NOT   FORSAKE.  269 

never,  never  leave  thee."  The  presence  and  the 
power  are  unintermitted  and  perpetual,  reaching  to 
the  smallest  cares  as  well  as  to  the  greatest  terroi*s. 
"  Such  honour  have  all  his  saints."  And  this  is  the 
grand  consolation  of  life. 

But  this  promise  has  a  bearing,  yet  more  impor- 
tant, on  our  spiritual  life.  We  need  not  wonder 
that  God  should  continue  to  stand  by  the  new  creature 
in  all  its  emergencies.  His  plan  is  not  to  be  disap- 
pointed ;  nor  does  he  lay  hold  of  a  resisting  rebel, 
and  subdue  and  transform  him,  in  order  to  be  baffled 
by  the  adversary.  If  we  had  nothing  stronger  than 
the  persistency  of  human  will  to  depend  upon,  our 
reliance  would  be  on  the  weakest  of  all  causes.  One 
moment  of  caprice  or  carelessnes?  might  ruin  the 
soul  for  ever.  But  grace  is  determined  to  complete 
what  it  has  begun,  and  to  perform  the  good  work 
unto  the  day  of  redemption.  The  whole  church  is 
given  to  Christ  in  covenant,  and  every  individual 
believer  has  his  share  in  the  blessed  security.  Look- 
ing at  the  internal  strength  of  the  church,  we  may 
say  it  is  endangered ;  but  looking  at  the  covenant, 
it  is  safe.  "  In  that  day  sing  ye  unto  her,  A  vine- 
yard of  red  wine.  I  the  Lord  do  keep  it ;  I  will 
water  it  every  moment :  lest  any  hurt  it,  I  will  keep 
it  night  and  day."  God's  honour  is  concerned  to 
bring  the  disciple  through,  in  spite  of  all  enemies. 
This  is  felt  in  time  of  temptation,  when  the  sound  ot 
unearthly  hosts  marshalling  around  us  is  heard  on 
every  side ;  "  for  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and 
blood,  but  against  principalities,   against  powers 


270  CONSOLATION. 

against  the  rnlei^  of  the  darkness  of  this  world, 
against  spiiitual  wickedness  in  high  places."  Let 
God  forsake  us  but  an  instant  when  thus  beleaguered, 
and  we  should  be  torn  to  pieces  by  the  fiery  talons 
of  a  thousand  hellish  destroyers.  jBut  still  the  voice 
is,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  What 
else  saved  Peter  in  the  hour  of  darkness ?  "I  have 
prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not !"  Precious 
words,  which  are  applicable  to  all  of  us  in  our  times 
of  temptation  !  "  The  devil,  as  a  roaring  Hon,  walk- 
eth  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour ;"  and  all 
the  fold  would  be  a  desolation  were  it  not  for  the 
good  Shepherd,  who  knoweth  his  sheep,  and  is 
known  of  them.  The  more  deeply  we  drink  of 
gospel  grace,  the  more  shall  we  value  this  assurance 
of  God's  never-ceasing  help,  as  knowing  that  we  are 
not  sufficient  of  ourselves  so  much  as  to  think  a 
good  thought ;  but  that  all  our  sufficiency  is  of 
God. 

There  are  moments  of  despondency  in  which 
the  believer  is  ready  to  take  up  David's  lamenta- 
tion and  cry,  "  I  shall  one  day  perish  by  the  hand 
of  Saul."  But  the  promise  gleams  forth  among  the 
stars  of  heaven,  and  he  rejoices  in  the  sure  mercies 
of  David.  It  is  wonderful  how  Scripture  makes 
provision  even  for  these  moods  of  weakness  and  dis- 
trust in  the  Church.  Out  of  the  clouds  and  dark- 
ness, the  well-known  voice  is  heard,  saying,  "  For  a 
small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee,  but  with  great 
mercies  will  I  gather  thee.  In  a  little  wrath  I  hid 
my  face  from  thee  for  a  moment ;  but  with  ever- 


GOD   WILL   NOT    FORSAKE.  271 

lasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy  on  thee,  saith 
the  Lord  thy  Redeemer.  For  the  mountains  shall 
depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed ;  but  my  kindness 
shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither  shall  the  cove- 
Qant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that 
hath  mercy  on  thee."  It  is  this  covenant  which 
^still  remains  as  the  foundation  of  confidence.  Yet 
the  individual  believer  may  take  up  the  language  of 
Zion  in  the  hours  of  desertion  :  "  The  Lord  hath  for- 
saken me,  and  my  Lord  hath  forgotten  me  !  Can  a 
woman  forget  her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not 
have  compassion  on  the  son  of  her  womb  ?  yea,  they 
may  forget,  yet  will  I  not  forget  thee."  Come  what 
will,  God's  mercies  cannot  fail,  nor  his  presence  be 
removed.  Even  sin,  his  abhorrence,  and  our  great- 
est enemy,  shall  not  be  allowed  to  bieak  the  hal- 
lowed alliance.  This  is  a  delicate  point  in  Christian 
experience,  and  one  which  requires  to  be  treated 
with  caution.  It  is  no  part  of  the  covenant,  that 
the  believer  may  live  as  he  lists,  and  yet  have  God's 
favour ;  that  he  may  continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may 
abound;  that  God  does  not  hate  and  chastise  his 
sins ;  or  that  he  may  walk  in  unholiness,  and  yet  per- 
severe. This  were  to  assert  contradiction,  absurdi- 
ty, and  impossibility.  "  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion 
over  you."  "This  is  the  will  of  God,  even  your 
sanctification."  To  be  left  in  sin  is  to  be  forever 
forsaken  of  God ;  it  is  to  secure  your  deliverance 
from  sin,  that  he  says,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor 
forsake  thee."  Indwelling  corruption  may  rear  its 
head,  and  sometimes  threaten  to   prevail,  but  the 


272  CONSOLATION. 

presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  working  repentance 
and  faith  in  the  soul,  will  crush  the  monster.  God 
is  perpetually  carrying  on  a  hidden  but  mighty  pro- 
cess to  this  very  intent ;  and  there  is  no  aspect  of 
the  promise  which  is  more  acceptable  to  the  true 
disciple,  who,  having  these  promises,  is  induced  to 
lay  aside  all  filthiness  of  flesh  and  spirit,  and  to  per- 
fect holiness  in  the  fear  of  God.  Though  the  Mas- 
ter may  leave  the  gold  in  the  furnace,  he  does  not 
abandon  it.  The  flames  may  rage,  but  they  are  only 
consuming  the  dross ;  and  at  length  the  refulgent 
mass  issues  from  the  glowing  heat  fit  for  the  use  of 
its  Lord. 

There  are  conjunctures  in  the  soul's  history  when 
there  is  a  combination  of  enemies,  and  when  God 
seems  departing.  External  affliction  presses  in  un- 
expected forms ;  to  increase  the  anguish,  Satan  and 
his  angels  assault  the  soul  with  manifold  tempta- 
tions ;  and  to  complete  the  calamity,  treachery  is 
found  within,  and  the  will  begins  to  yield  consent  to 
evil.  Job  was  in  such  case,  as  was  also  David. 
But  he  that  is  with  us  is  mightier  than  they  that 
are  against  us.  The  conflict  would  be  fatal  if  God 
now  were  to  depart;  but  he  abides.  It  is  agree- 
able to  his  covenant  so  to  do.  How  insufficient 
would  the  favour  be  if  he  were  to  cling  to  us  in  our 
outward  distress,  and  leave  us  to  ourselves  in  the 
infinitely  greater  hazard  of  spiritual  assault !  Such 
is  not  the  manner  of  his  grace.  In  the  present  en- 
durance of  such  evils,  and  in  the  expectation  of 
those  that  are  future,  we  are  authorized  to  assure 


GOD    WILL   ]VOT   FORSAKE.  273 

ourselves,  that  lie  will  never  leave  us  nor  forsake 
us.  "  There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you  but  such 
as  is  common  to  man ;  but  God  is  faithful,  who  will 
not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are 
able ;  but  will  with  temptation  also  make  a  way  to 
escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it." 

My  fellow-Christians,  in  looking  forward  toAvards 
infirmity,  old  age,  and  the  decline  of  life,  you  have 
sometimes  sunk  in  spirit,  and  feared  lest  the  stock 
of  strength  which  you  now  possess  might  not  be 
sufficient  for  that  sad  and  disheartening  part  of  the 
pilgrimage.  To  clear  away  such  doubts,  you  need 
only  hearken  to  the  paternal  voice,  which  says, 
"  Even  to  old  age,  I  am  He,  and  to  hoary  hairs  will 
I  carry  you ;"  that  is,  "  I  am  he  whose  promise  hath 
been  given,- 1  will  never  leave  you,  nor  forsake  you." 
Combine  in  your  imagination  all  the  forces  of  out- 
ward distress,  poverty,  weakness,  pain,  desertion, 
and  despondency;  all  the  temptations  of  a  cruel 
and  experienced  foe ;  all  the  surviving  evils  of  your 
own  partially  sanctified  nature ;  all  shall  prove  un- 
able to  break  the  covenant.  And  as  you  go  down 
the  harsh  descent  into  the  last  valley,  though  fears 
may  be  in  the  way,  you  shall  still  say,  "  Who  shall 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  Nay,  in  all  these 
things  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through  him 
that  loved  us !" 

And  then,  in  that  dreaded  trial  which  awaits  us 
all,  what  is  our  assurance  for  the  death-bed,  but 
this  same  declaration  of  God's  gracious  purpose? 
Can  we  rely  on  any  powers  of  which  we  are  now 


274  CONSOLATION. 

conscious  for  the  conflict  with  the  last  enemy? 
Thanks  be  unto  God,  he  has  not  left  us  to  so  feeble  a 
source.  If  there  is  on  earth  a  spot  where  his  cov- 
enant mercies  are  especially  shown,  it  is  the  dying 
chamber.  There,  when  friends  have  fallen  back,  be- 
cause they  cannot  help ;  when  earthly  sights  have 
failed  before  the  glassy  eye ;  when  earthly  sounds, 
even  of  devotion  and  love,  have  ceased  to  reach  the 
ear ;  when  the  soul,  almost  free  from  a  body  that  is 
cold  and  stiffening,  almost  reduced  to  that  nakedness 
and  loneliness  with  which  it  is  to  explore  the  un- 
known future,  is  already  forsaken  of  all  that  is  cre- 
ated, a  gentle,  well-remembered  whisper  is  saying  to 
the  inward  sense,  "  I  will  never,  never  leave  thee : 
I  will  never,  never,  never  forsake  thee."  And  the 
accomplishment  of  all  is  just  at  the  door ;  for  when 
the  last  breath  is  wasted,  and  the  silence  around  is 
broken  by  sudden  wailing  and  preparations  for  the 
tomb,  that  spirit,  nearer  to  God  than  ever  before,  is 
rapt  for  ever  in  the  embrace  of  love,  no  more  to  fear, 
to  sorrow,  or  to  sin.  O  ye  who  have  no  God,  and 
who  know  ye  are  afraid  to  die,  it  is  worth  your  in- 
stant labour  and  importunate  prayer;  it  is  worth 
toils  and  sufferings  of  a  lifetime  to  be  prepared  for 
such  a  departure. 

This,  indeed,  is  vast  and  glorious,  but  is  this 
all  ?  Does  God  conduct  his  beloved  child  to  the 
gate  of  bliss,  and  then  cancel  his  promise,  and  aban- 
don it  ?  O  no !  All  that  precedes  is  but  a  single 
momentary  breath  before  a  lifetime.  We  have  ar- 
rived at  the  true  birth  of  the  soul.     Now  it  emerge? 


GOD    WILL   NOT   FOESAKE.  2  75 

into  tracts  of  endless  expansion,  where  there  is  no 
danger,  because  there  is  no  evil.  Perfect  holiness 
is  perfect  bliss,  and  both  are  increasing  for  ever. 
Now  the  union  of  the  soul  with  God,  often  sighed 
for,  is  consummated ;  and  so  shall  they  "  be  ever 
with  the  Lord."  Such  is  the  value,  my  brethren,  of 
the  truth  here  revealed,  that  God  engages  to  be 
with  the  believer,  for  all  needful  good,  now,  hence- 
forth, and  for  ever. 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  the  consolatory 
bearing  of  this  sacred  truth  on  some  particular  cases 
of  trial  which  are  common  among  God's  suffering 
people.  For  example,  these  pages  may  fall  under 
the  notice  of  one  who  has  been  bereaved  of  the 
guide  of  her  youth,  and  is  left  to  pursue,  in  solitary 
weakness,  that  part  of  the  journey  in  which  the  sup- 
port of  a  loving  friend  is  most  needed.  The  stay  has 
been  removed  from  the  sinking  frame.  The  best, 
and  nearest,  and  most  sympathizing  counsellor  is  re- 
moved. He  upon  whom  the  great  burden  of  re- 
sponsibility was  so  constantly  devolved  that  it  was 
scarcely  felt,  is  no  longer  present.  That  heart, 
which  of  all  others  had  most  forbearance  and  com- 
passion for  her  weaknesses  and  sorrows,  no  more 
beats  on  earth.  To  this  may  be  added,  in  some 
cases,  the  pressure  of  poverty,  the  failure  of  healtli, 
and  the  infirmity  of  age.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that 
fchis  is  a  moment  of  unusual  affliction.  But  God  has 
not  left  it  without  promise ;  since  he  has  named  him- 
self the  "Judge  of  the  widows."  He  will  plead 
their  cause ;  he  will  never  leave  them  nor  forsake 


21 6  CONSOLATION. 

them.  However  desolate  in  regard  to  human  pros- 
pects, the  widowed  heart  may  confidently  throw 
itself  upon  the  tender  mercies  of  him  who  is  at  once 
Maker  and  Husband.  A  thousand  testimonies 
might  be  adduced,  if  departed  saints  could  speak,  of 
God's  faithfulness  in  this  very  relation,  to  daugh- 
ters of  afflictions  who  have  fled  to  him  for  succour, 
and  have  been  sustained  and  cheered  throughout 
the  days  of  forlorn  and  otherwise  hopeless  pilgrim- 
age. 

In  general,  it  may  be  asserted,  that  the  gospel 
covenant  secures  to  us  the  presence  and  support  of 
God,  for  all  the  future.  Let  no  moody  clouds  ob- 
scure this  prospect,  nor  any  temporary  adversities 
discourage  us  from  hoping  boldly  in  our  all-sufficient 
Helper.  The  worst  that  shall  ever  befall  us,  if  we 
are  within  the  pale  of  his  grace,  shall  be  so  ordered 
in  time  and  measure,  as  only  more  distinctly  to  show 
that  his  purposes  are  full  of  mercy.  Let  go  this 
confidence  for  a  moment,  and  we  become  wretched 
indeed.  But  it  is  not  to  be  omitted,  that  God  not 
only  gives  this  promise,  but  causes  his  servants  to 
believe  it!*  Without  this  the  word  of  assurance,  how^ 
ever  certain  of  fulfilment,  would  for  the  time  being 
be  a  dead 'letter.  And  the  suftering  soul  is  some- 
times allowed  to  reach  the  very  brink  of  such  a 
despondency.  But  he  who  worketh  in  us  both  to 
will  and  do  of  his  good  pleasure,  utters  the  word  of 
promise,  opens  the  wistful  ear  of  woe,  pours  in  the 
grace  of  believing,  irradiates  the  soul's  chamber 
with  the  light  of  hope,  and  lifts  up  the  head  that 


GOD   WILL   NOT   FOESAKE.  277 

was  hangirg  down  in  apprehension.  Then  it  is, 
that  amidst  the  reverberation  of  the  tempest  Christ's 
own  voice  is  heard,  giving  peace  and  assurance. 
From  which  we  learn  the  value  of  faith,  as  an  in- 
strument of  consolation. 

Preparation  for  trials  yet  to  come  is  a  principal 
part  of  Christian  prudence.  It  is  too  late  to  make 
ready  the  safeguards  of  the  vessel,  when  the  storm 
has  begun  to  rage.  He  who  is  wise  will  bethink 
him  of  the  hour  of  darkness,  long  before  its  arrival. 
He  will  store  his  mind  with  provision  of  truth  from 
the  word  of  inspiration ;  above  all,  with  promises 
adapted  to  each  emergency  of  this  changeful  life. 
He  wiE,  in  ways  already  indicated,  seek  to  make 
his  calling  and  election  sure  ;  lest  in  the  time  of  peril 
he  be  plunged  into  doubt  respecting  his  own  accept- 
ance, and  thus  into  an  incapacity  of  receiving  com- 
fort from  the  most  explicit  promises  of  the  Scrip- 
ture. And  he  will,  by  repeated  acts  of  faith,  acquire 
such  a  habit  of  mind  as  shall  not  be  shaken  from  its 
moorings  when  winds  prevail  upon  the  sea.  It  is 
therefore  earnestly  to  be  pressed  upon  the  considera- 
tion of  all  professing  Christians,  that  their  support 
in  affliction  will  bear  proportion  to  their  vigilance 
and  holiness  in  ordinary  times.  All  observation  of 
religious  experience  tends  to  verify  this  remark. 
None  are  so  immediately  prostrated  by  a  great  dis- 
tress, none  so  prone  to  exclaim  that  God  has  for- 
saken them,  as  those  who  have  been  conformed  to 
the  world,  and  have  lived  as  if  God  were  not  their 
portion.     Melancholy  indeed  is  the  case  of  that  ser- 


278  CONSOLATION. 

vant  of  Christ,  who  is  surprised  by  some  desolating 
stroke,  at  the  very  time,  when,  backsliding  and  car- 
nal, he  is  in  full  pursuit  of  earthly  idols.  Even  him, 
supposing  that  he  is  a  child  of  the  kingdom,  God 
will  not  forsake.  But  fearful  must  be  the  paroxysms 
of  fear  and  compunction,  through  which  his  way  of 
return  will  lie  to  the  confident  reliance  of  the  heav- 
enly word.  Whereas,  he  who  walks  humbly  with 
his  God,  delights  in  him,  communes  with  him,  and 
enjoys  him,  as  the  daily  tenor  of  his  life,  sees  the 
night  of  adversity  darkening  around  him  without 
consternation.  His  apprehensions  of  God's  nature 
and  providence,  his  relation  to  Christ  as  his  covenant 
head  and  ever  present  advocate,  and  his  certainty 
that  no  jot  or  tittle  of  promise  shall  remain  unful- 
filled, avail  to  lift  his  head,  when  the  waves  run 
highest.  In  these  shakings  of  the  earth  and  sea  he 
does  not  behold  the  tokens  of  a  departing  God.  On 
the  contrary,  he  can  sing  with  the  psalmist,  "  God  is 
our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trou- 
ble. Therefore  will  not  we  fear,  though  the  earth 
be  removed,  and  though  the  mountains  be  carried 
into  the  midst  of  the  sea :  though  the  waters  thereof 
roar  and  be  troubled,  though  the  mountains  shake 
with  the  swelling  thereof."  Psalm  46  : 1,  2,  3. 


THE  BELIEVER  SUSTAINED  BY  THB 
STRENGTH  OF  CHRIST. 


XII. 

A  SENSE  of  weakness  is  one  of  the  first  impres- 
sions of  wMcli  tlie  convinced  soul  is  conscious. 
There  was  a  day  when  the  believer  fondly  ima- 
gined that  all  things  were  possible  to  him,  by  his 
own  unaided  endeavours.  Therefore  it  was,  that  he 
put  far  off  the  day  of  repentance,  believing  that  at 
any  moment  of  alarm  or  illness,  or  even  in  the 
article  of  death,  he  might  gather  his  powers  and  cast 
himself  by  a  happy  effort  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Practically  denying  the  need  of  divine  assistance,  he 
deferred  until  a  more  convenient  season  that  work 
which  multitudes  have  never  performed  to  the  en- 
tire satisfaction  of  their  souls,  even  during  a  lifetime. 
But  no  sooner  is  any  one  convinced  that  he  is  miser- 
able, and  not  only  miserable,  but  guilty  ;  that  he  is 
condemned,  and  not  only  condemned,  but  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins,  cut  off  from  all  succour,  and  abso- 
lutely helpless  and  undone — than  he  begins  to  see 
the  meaning  of  such  declarations  as  these,  "  No  man 
can  come  to  Christ,  except  the  Father  draw  him." 
He  acknowledges  indeed  that  the  barrier  is  his  de 
pra^dty,  his  sin,  his  alienation  from  God,  the  wan. 
of  a  holy  nature  and  disposition ;  and  he  feels  him 


282  CONSOLATION. 

self  on  this  account  justly  condemned ;  yet  just  as 
strongly  is  he  impressed  with  the  insurmountable 
greatness  of  this  hinderance.  The  change  of  heart 
which  he  knows  to  be  necessary  is  a  change  which 
no  human  philosophy  can  persuade  him  is  within 
the  power  of  himself  or  any  creature ;  and  the  more 
he  enters  into  the  solemn  reality  of  this  his  entire 
helplessness,  the  more  will  he  cry  out  with  unutter- 
able anguish  of  spirit,  "  Lord,  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner." 

"  This  heart  of  mine,"  he  says,  "  is  too  hard  to  bo 
melted  into  love  by  any  influence  but  the  baptismal 
fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  yet  am  I  not  thereby  justi- 
fied— ^for  as  a  matter  of  right  I  dare  not  ask  of  God 
to  rescue  me.  I  am  an  enemy  of  the  ever  blessed 
Jehovah.  My  chains  are  the  chains  of  sin ;  and  sin 
is  in  its  very  essence  alienation  from  God  or  opposi- 
tion to  God,  and  cannot  be  my  excuse.  I  lie  at  the 
mercy  of  Jehovah,  and  even  though  I  pray  and 
strive,  I  do  but  see  more  and  more  this  plague  of 
my  own  heart :  I  do  but  feel  more  and  more  my 
own  weakness.  If  I  am  ever  saved,  it  must  be  by 
the  very  energy  of  the  Almighty.  I  am  unholy.  I 
partake  with  devils  in  that  abominable  thing  which 
God  hateth.  I  must  be  born  again  or  perish.  I 
must  believe  on  the  Son  of  God  or  remain  con- 
demned. The  condemnation  is  just.  I  have  no  ex- 
cuse for  not  loving  supremely  the  most  blessed  and 
glorious  and  beneficent  Jesus,  no  apology  for  not 
relying  upon  his  offered  mercy.  I  lie  athirst  by  the 
fresh  fountain  of  the  water  of  life:  still  1  cannot 


STRENGTH   IN   CHRIST.  283 

fitoop  and  drink;  and  this  very  reluctance  is  my 
ein — tlie  sin  of  obstinately  rejecting  Christ  and  his 
salvation.  Whither  shall  I  look  for  help  ?  No 
power  can  remedy  my  disease,  but  one  which  can 
reach  this  stubborn  principle  of  depravity  —  and 
there  is  no  such  power  but  that  of  God." 

These  are  common  exercises,  and  this  struggle 
is  more  or  less  protracted  in  all  cases  of  conviction. 
In  order  to  feel  that  salvation  is  all  of  grace,  it  is 
just  as  necessary  to  be  convinced  of  our  dependence 
on  God  for  every  right  thought,  as  to  be  convinced 
of  guilt  and  condemnation.  The  work  of  our  re- 
generation is  not,  in  any  part  of  it,  man's  w^ork. 
For  although  man  is  active  in  believing  and  repent- 
ing, and  loving  and  obeying,  yet  the  co-operation, 
or  rather  the  primary  and  effectual  operation,  is  of 
God.  When  the  withered  hand  was  stretched  out 
at  the  command  of  Christ,  the  poor  sufferer  was 
active,  yet  we  all  know  that  it  was  Divine  energy 
which  wrought  in  and  by  this  volition.  No  man 
can  say  at  his  conversion,  "  I  will  do  thus  much  ;  I 
will  go  so  far ;  I  will  meet  the  advances  of  God  on 
some  middle  ground — and  then — w^hen  I  have  done 
my  utmost,  in  my  own  strength,  God  will  accom- 
plish the  remainder,  and  come  to  the  aid  of  my 
weakness."  No,  my  brethren,  when  a  perishing  sin- 
ner is  most  in  earnest  in  working  out  his  own  salva- 
tion, he  does  it  with  fear  and  trembling.  And  why 
this  fear  and  trembling  ?  Because  he  knows  that  a 
sovereign  and  holy  God  holds  his  very  being  at  his 
own  pleasure,  and  may  or  may  not,  as  he  will,  work 


28^  CONSOLATION. 

in  liim  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good 
pleasure. 

We  are  now  able,  in  a  measure,  to  account  for 
the  length  of  this  agonizing  struggle  in  certain 
minds :  and  to  give  one  reason  why  a  heavy-laden 
soul  cannot  at  once  come  to  Christ,  when  the  free 
overture  of  salvation  is  made.  It  is  mainly  because 
the  person  convinced  of  sin,  is  still  unconvinced  of 
the  perfect  freeness  of  the  proffered  gift.  He  is  still 
desirous  of  arriving  at  some  deeper  conviction — some 
more  poignant  grief — some  terror  or  earnestness — 
of  being  melted  into  greater  floods  of  tears  or  fixed 
in  firmer  resolutions.  He  is,  in  short,  not  yet  con- 
vinced of  his  dependence  on  God  for  every  right 
thought,  feeling,  and  action.  He  will  come  to  Jesus 
when  he  has  made  his  heart  better,  and  he  even 
dreads  to  believe  now,  to  cast  himself  now  upon 
the  open  arms  of  Christ,  lest  it  should  be  too  soon. 
His  struggles  are  suffered  by  the  wisdom  of  God  to 
continue,  that  he  may  find  his  own  weakness,  and, 
after  having  wearied  his  soul  in  going  about  to 
establish  his  own  righteousness,  may  submit  himself 
to  the  righteousness  of  God. 

The  belief  of  our  dependence  on  God,  as  the 
source  of  all  spiritual  strength,  grows  with  our 
Christian  growth.  The  newly  converted  person 
may,  in  the  wonderful  path  of  God's  most  wise  dis- 
cipline, be  permitted  for  a  season  to  walk  in  his  own 
strength,  and  left  as  the  tottering  infant  is  left  by 
the  parent  to  prove  its  own  limbs ;  but  he  is  soon 
made  to  cry  out,  "  I  am  not  sufficient  of  myself  so 


STEENGTH   IN   CHRIST.  285 

mucli  as  to  think  a  good  thought,  but  my  sufficiency 
is  of  God."  The  believer  does  not  receive  at  his  in- 
grafting into  Christ,  a  supply  of  vital  energy  suffi- 
cient to  influence  him  in  a  holy  manner  all  his  life 
long.  .  The  branch  must  abide  in  the  vine.  There 
must  be  a  union,  not  only  formed,  but  kept  up. 
New  streams  of  grace  must  flow,  hour  by  hour; 
and  if  for  a  moment  this  communication  is  inter- 
rupted, he  begins  to  languish  ;  like  the  twig  or  the 
bough  which  is  robbed  of  its  life-giving  sap  and 
moisture.  "  Without  me  ye  qan  do  nothing."  This 
is  the  lesson  which  we  are  constantly  learning.  God 
is  glorified  when  we  are  apt  scholars  in  this  school. 

It  is  true  there  are  habits  of  piety ;  but  not  such 
habits  as  render  us  independent  of  the  divine  influ- 
ences. If  God  withhold  his  hand  the  habit  ceases. 
If  he  hide  his  face  we  are  troubled.  The  most  ex 
perienced  Christians  are  most  aware  of  being  them- 
selves unable  to  stand  a  moment,  and  of  the  danger 
of  self-dependence.  They  are  taught  of  God  that 
the  glory  must  not  only  be,  but  appear  to  be  of 
Him.  If  they  are  faithful,  it  is  because  Christ  by 
his  holy  Spirit  replenishes  their  souls  with  his  grace 
They  live  by  faith,  and  not  only  so — it  is  by  con- 
stantly renewed  acts  of  faith  that  they  live.  The 
child  of  God  is  no  more  able  to  put  forth  acts  of 
faith  now,  than  he  was  when  he  first  passed  from 
darkness  to  light,  except  so  far  as  he  has  divine  aid. 

The  life  that  he  now  lives  is  the  same  life  which 
was  communicated  at  his  effectual  calling.  Though 
an  abiding,  it  is  not  an  independent  principle.     Ho 


286  CONSOLATION. 

cannot  say,  I  live  now'  because  God  once  raised  me 
to  newness  of  life  and  then  left  me  to  keep  my  own 
soul  alive.  No,  "  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth 
in  me ;  and  the  life  that  I  now  live,  I  live  by  faith 
in  the  Son  of  God."  We  live,  my  brethren,  but  not 
independently ;  "  our  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 
God  is  the  author  of  the  vital  action,  Christ  is  the 
vital  centre,  the  very  heart  of  the  system,  from 
whom,  and  in  correspondence  with  whom,  every 
pulsation  of  spiritual  being  is  made.  It  is  important 
that  those  who  profess  godliness  should  be  led  to 
consider  this  peculiarity  of  true  religion.  They  that 
are  Christ's  feel  that  they  are  in  the  exercise  of 
grace,  only  so  long  as  Christ  lives  in  them  ;  that  the 
true  method  of  cultivating  piety  is  to  cultivate  a 
sense  of  dependence  on  Christ ;  that  if  we  desire  to 
grow  in  grace  and  to  glorify  God,  we  must  look 
above  and  beyond  all  means,  all  instrumentality,  all 
ordinances,  to  Jesus  Christ  as  our  living  head.  To 
the  believer  Christ  says,  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall 
live  also."  There  are  some  who  have  a  name  to  live 
while  they  are  dead.  They  are  numbered  among 
the  people  of  God :  they  are  punctual  in  the  out- 
ward performances  of  religion.  They  have  felt  some 
sorrow  and  tenderness  and  compunction,  and  sub- 
sequent to  this,  some  peace  and  joy,  and  they  be- 
lieve themselves  safe  in  the  ark  —  though  it  may 
have  been  very  long  since  they  knew  what  it  was 
to  experience  any  near  communion  with  their  Re- 
deemer ;  and  though  they  are  seen  by  the  world  to 
"mind  earthly  things"  and  to  love  the  world,  and 


REf, 

STRENGTH   IN   CHRIST.  ff^Jlr>^^^    ' 

to  be  ashamed  of  Christ — and  though  tliej  bridle  ^o 
not  their  tongues — and  speak  evil  of  brethren— and  '^ 
indulge  in  pride  and  hatred,  in  ambition  and  avarice  v  li 
in  folly  and  levity.  Now  such  persons,  though  thej  """^ 
are  frequently  so  much  blinded  by  their  sin  as  tc 
think  that  they  are  rich  and  increased  in  goods  and 
have  need  of  nothing,  are  really  poor  and  miserable, 
and  naked,  and  actually  in  need  of  the  principal 
thing  in  religion.  The  great  attainment  they  have 
not  reached.  They  do  their  works  and  attend  their 
duties  without  Christ.  Their  sufficiency  is  never 
felt  to  be  of  God.  The  mystery  of  union  with  the 
Redeemer,  abiding  in  him,  being  complete  in  him, 
feeling  strong  in  him,  walking,  living,  and  tri- 
.umphing  by  faith  in  him  —  this  delightful  mys- 
tery of  godliness  has  never  been  revealed  to  their 
souls.  Such  religion  as  this  is  a  mere  shell,  without 
the  kernel.  It  is  legal — it  is  Christless — and  how- 
ever great  the  zeal,  or  bustling  the  activity  of  those 
who  possess  it — ^it  is  such  as  will  not  honour  God, 
or  give  comfort  in  the  hour  of  death.  Now  the 
faithful  servant  of  God  owns  at  every  step  that  if 
having  been  once  blind  he  now  sees,  it  is  all  of  the 
Spirit.  "  By  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am." 
Not  one  movement  can  be  made  towards  the  end 
of  his  course  without  assistance.  "  Looking  unto 
Jesus "  the  author  and  finisher  of  his  faith,  he  runs 
with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  him. 

This  dependence  is  felt  very  sensibly  by  the  be- 
liever, while  engaged  in  the  active  duties  of  life. 
Is  he  a  parent  ?     He  knows  that  his  teaching  and 


288  CONSOLATION. 

correction  and  discipline  can  in  no  way  avail  to  the 
salvation  of  Ms  household  without  the  blessing  of 
Christ.  Is  he  a  minister?  He  sows  the  seed  and 
administers  the  truth,  as  one  who  can  do  nothing 
efficaciously  toward  the  increase.  He  feels  that  all 
his  sufficiency  is  of  God;  and  while  he  plants  in 
many  soils,  and  waters  with  many  tears  and  prayers, 
he  lifts  to  heaven  his  eyes,  which  often  fail  for  grief, 
and  says,  "  My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon  God,  for 
my  expectation  is  from  him."  Is  he  using  those 
means  which  lie  within  the  reach,  and  belong  to  the 
duty  of  every  member  of  Christ's  body,  to  promote 
true  religion  ?  He  depends  on  the  arm  of  Jehovah. 
The  battle  here  is  not  to  the  strong ;  whatever  his 
zeal,  his  talents,  his  assiduity,  all  the  increase  must 
be  of  God.  He  acknowledges  that  he  is  nothing — 
feels  that  he  is  nothing — desires  to  be  nothing — 
delights  to  be  nothing — that  Christ  his  Saviour  may 
be  all  in  all.  His  longing  desire  is  to  set  the  crown 
of  all  blessing,  honour,  glory,  and  power,  upon  the 
head  of  Immanuel. 

When  the  Apostle  Paul  says,  in  writing  to  the 
Philippians,  "I  can  do  aU  things  through  Christ 
which  strengtheneth  me,"  there  is  in  his  words  a 
total  renunciation  of  all  dependence  on  his  own 
strength.  Though  he  could  say,  with  regard  to  his 
brethren,  that  he  laboured  more  abundantly  than 
they  all,  yet  he  thus  speaks  ;  "  Not  that  we  are  suf- 
ficient of  ourselves  to  think  any  thing  as  of  our- 
selves, but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God."  And  he  else- 
where states  the  reason  of  this  to  be,  "  that  the  ex- 


CTEENGTH   EN   CHRIST.  289 

cellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God  and  not  of 
us.'*  Whatever  employment  or  labour,  my  dear 
brethren,  you  may  be  called  to  undertake,  whether 
within  or  without,  of  soul  or  body,  for  yourselves  or 
for  your  fellow-men,  great  or  small,  new  or  accus- 
tomed ;  whatever  burdens,  temptations,  or  afflictions, 
you  have  to  endure ;  whatever  pleasures  or  sins  you 
are  commanded  to  deny  yourself  or  forbear — in 
every  case,  and  at  all  times  acknowledge  and  feeJ 
that  you  are  without  strength.  Yes,  so  true  is  this, 
and  so  important,  that  you  cannot  feel  it  too 
strongly.  You  may,  indeed,  cherish  a  false  and 
counterfeit  impression  of  your  own  weakness — a  sen- 
timent which  is  wrong  in  kind,  which  is  sinful  and 
hateful  to  God.  You  may  say  in  your  hearts,  "  I 
can  do  nothing,  and  therefore  I  will  do  nothing  I 
am  helpless,  and  therefore  I  will  not  seek  divine 
help.  God  calls  me  to  duties,  but  I  am  unable  to 
perform  them,  and  I  will  sit  still,  fold  my  arms,  and 
wait  upon  the  Lord  without  effort."  This  is  rebel- 
lion, for  it  is  in  effect  saying,  "The  Almighty  is  a 
hard  master,  reaping  where  he  hath  not  sown,  and  I 
will  not  attempt  to  obey."  This  is  the  form  of  de- 
pravity which  rages  in  the  souls  of  those  who  are 
unconverted.  Because  they  profess  to  believe  that 
they  are  dead,  they  will  not  come  unto  Christ,  that 
they  may  have  life.  And  very  often  these  very 
persons  have  less  genuine  belief  of  their  impotence 
than  all  others.  But  you  who  believe  that  the  law 
of  God  is  holy  and  just  and  good ;  you  who  delight 
in  it  after  the  inner  man,  and  desire  to  obey  it,  and 
19 


290  CONSOLATION. 

strive  to  be  holy,  and  at  the  same  time  render  to 
God  the  praise  of  every  right  thought,  every  mo-" 
mentary  view  of  the  truth,  every  contrite  sigh ; 
you  who  lament  that  when  you  would  do  good 
evil  is  present  with  you,  and  groan  being  burdened, 
because  ye  cannot  do  the  good  ye  would,  and  sink 
into  nothing  in  the  consciousness  of  your  feebleness 
and  corruption ; — you,  beloved,  cannot  too  much 
encourage  such  renunciation  of  your  own  strength. 

You  are  taught  already  by  your  daily  experi- 
ence that  the  bolief  of  this  truth  does  not  make  you 
listless.  Never  does  the  believer  work  for  God 
with  so  much  confidence,  and  activity,  and  persever- 
ance, and  zeal,  and  success,  as  when  he  knows  that 
all  his  works  are  wrought  in  God :  that  God  is 
fulfilling  in  him  all  the  good  pleasure  of  his  good- 
ness, and  the  work  of  faith  with  power. 

Are  any  ready  to  say,  If  we  have  no  strength 
except  in  Christ,  we  might  as  well  make  no  efforts 
until  the  energy  of  God  falls  upon  us  and  bears  us 
away  irresistibly  to  the  performance  of  duty  ?  To 
such  we  reply:  This  might  be  reasonable,  if  man 
were  a  mere  machine  operated  upon  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  the  ship  is  moved  by  the  wind.  But  no. 
Man  is  essentially  active.  How  God  works  in  us 
and  by  us  we  know  not ;  neither  do  we  know  how 
an  act  of  our  will  sets  in  motion  the  muscles  of  our 
bodies.  This,  however,  we  do  know,  that  God 
works  and  that  we  work  also.  The  only  i-evealed 
connection  between  the  two  operations  is  such  as 
we  just    stated.      We    are   to   put    forth    strong 


STEENGTH   IN   CHEIST.  291 

efforts — as  strong  as  thougli  there  were  no  aid  re* 
qaired;  but  at  the  same  time  feeling  that  every 
such  act  is  spiritual  and  acceptable  and  useful,  only 
80  far  as  Christ  strengthens  us.  These  efforts  are 
as  truly  our  own  as  any  thing  conceivable  is  our 
own.  God  in  great  mercy  rewards  us  for  them  as 
our  own.  They  are  as  truly  effects  of  God's  agency 
as  the  creation  is  such.  Observe  the  order  of  the 
ideas  in  the  words  of  Paul  already  cited.  1st.  I 
can  do  all  things.  This  is  the  expression  of  a  reso- 
lution to  work,  to  attempt  all  duty.  He  does  not 
say,  I  will  wait  until  I  see  and  feel  the  breathing 
of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  I  will  be  inactive  and  supine 
until  I  can  be  so  no  longer.  No ;  I  will  arise  and 
confidently  do  every  act  which  is  commanded — en- 
deavour the  utterance  of  every  good  word — the 
performance  of  every  right  action.  2d.  Through 
Christ  which  strengtheneth  me.  This  is  the  ex- 
pression of  faith  in  Christ's  strength,  of  actual  be- 
lief that  Christ  does  strengthen.  This  is  being 
strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might. 
When  Paul  thus  s^poke,  he  felt  that  he  was 
strengthened  with  all  might  according  to  His  glo- 
rious power. 

We  learn  this  truth,  then,  as  to  the  order  in 
which  these  ideas  arise  in  the  mind  of  a  Christian. 
First,  We  set  ourselves  about  the  work  of  piety. 
Secondly,  The  Spirit  of  Christ  makes  this  work 
effectual.  So,  also,  in  another  passage  the  same  order 
is  observed :  1st,  Work  out  your  own  salvation ;  2d 
It  is  God  that  worketh  in  you  to  will  and  to  do. 


292  CONSOLATION. 

I  have  endeavoured  to  set  fortli  in  all  its  fulness 
the  doctrine  of  human  dependence,  in  order  to  show 
that  it  is  not  only  consistent  with  human  agency,  but 
is  an  incentive  to  it.  For  who  will  so  readily  under- 
take the  Lord's  work  as  he  who  expects  the  Lord's 
assistance  ? 

The  words  just  cited  express  a  desire  and 
purpose  to  be  intensely  active.  This  is  the  man 
who  felt  that  in  him,  that  is  in  his  flesh,  dwelt  no 
good  thing.  Yet  now  he  exultingly  says,  "  I  can  do 
all  things ;  I  can  act ;  I  can  suffer ;  I  have  learned 
in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therewith  to  be  content ; 
I  know  both  how  to  be  abased  and  how  to  abound ; 
every  where  and  in  all  things  I  am  instructed  both 
to  be  full  and  to  be  hungry,  both  to  abound  and  to 
suffer  need ;  yea,  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
which  strengtheneth  me." 

And  how  consoling  to  hear  from  Paul  an  ex- 
pression of  humble  confidence,  that  Christ  will 
strengthen.  I  am  ready  to  attempt  without  delay 
whatever  my  Master  calls  me  to  undertake  or  to  en- 
dure. However  mortifying  or  afflictive  the  trial, 
here  am  I,  Lord,  send  me.  However  uncertain  the 
prospect  of  what  is  to  be  demanded,  I  am  ready, 
"  Lord,  what  wouldst  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  Is  it  to 
rebuke  an  Apostle  ?  He  is  withstood  to  the  face.  Is 
it  to  enter  again  the  persecuting  seat  of  Jewish 
malice?  "Behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  Spirit  unto 
Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall 
me  ther(3;  save  that  the  Holy  Ghost  testifieth  in 
every  city,  saying  that   bonds   and  imprisonments 


STEENGTH   IN   CHEIST.  293 

abide  me ;  but  none  of  these  things  move  me."  Is  it 
to  publish  the  news  of  a  crucified  Galilean  in  the  im- 
perial metropolis  ?  "1  am  ready  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  you  that  are  at  Rome  also."  Is  it  by  his  ap- 
parent enthusiasm  to  risk  being  thought  insane  ? 
"  Whether  we  be  beside  ourselves  it  is  to  God,  or 
whether  we  be  sober,  it  is  for  your  cause,  for  the 
love  of  Christ  constraineth  us."  Yes,  brethren,  this 
was  the  motive,  and  the  strength  of  Christ  sustained 
the  Apostle,  and  sustains  in  the  same  manner  all 
that  are  true  believers. 

"  Through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me."  From 
whatever  part  of  the  world  of  grace  the  believer  looks, 
his  eye  will  always  fasten  itself  upon  the  great  Sun 
of  Righteousness.  As  it  is  only  in  Christ  that  we 
see  and  know  the  Father,  so  the  supplies  of  divine 
aid  are  all  conveyed  to  us  through  the  mediation  of 
Christ.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  gift  of  Christ.  His 
influences  are  bought  for  us  by  the  blood  of  Jesus. 
And  our  great  High  Priest,  who  bears  our  names 
upon  his  breast,  looks  from  heaven  to  see  us  toiling 
here  with  manifold  trials,  and  obtains  and  sends 
dow^n  upon  us  the  strengthening  influences  of  this 
adorable  and  glorious  Teacher  and  Comforter.  The 
operations  of  the  Spirit  are  invisible  and  secret,  and 
known  only  by  their  effects.  These  effects  are 
various.  They  are  not  always  elevated  emotions, 
or  sensible  raptures,  frames  of  sorrow  or  of  joy. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  blessed  Sanctifier 
often  works  by  immediate  impulses  to  Christian  ac- 
tion, without   at  such  particular   times,  filling  the 


294  CONSOLATION. 

soul  witli  self-evidencing  pleasure.  We  may  grieve 
tlie  holy  Spirit  of  Christ  if  we  defer  our  duty,  if  we 
neglect  the  doing  of  any  enjoined  act  until  we  feel 
that  we  can  do  it  joyfully,  until  every  feeling  of  mor- 
tified pride,  or  spiritual  cowardice,  or  sloth,  or  unbe- 
lief is  expelled.  This  would  be  to  look  for  the  tri- 
umph before  conflict.  If  we  love  Christ,  we  shall 
do  his  will  so  far  as  it  is  known  to  us,  now,  without 
delay.  Are  we  destitute^  of  the  proper  feelings? 
This  aggravates  but  cannot  excuse  the  sin  of  disobe- 
dience. To  believers,  and  also  to  unbelievers,  the 
command  is.  Do  the  will  of  God;  do  it  now;  do 
it  with  such  strength  as  you  have.  Christ  gives 
strength  while  we  are  in  action.  It  can  scarcely  be 
necessary  to  prove  this.  You  do  not  surely  expect 
a  dormant  stock,  or  magazine  of  graces,  a  hoarded 
capital  of  piety  in  your  souls,  sensibly  manifesting 
its  presence  before  you  begin  to  do  those  acts  which 
make  these  graces  necessary.  Put  the  slumbering 
muscles  in  action :  not  till  then  can  you  know  whe- 
ther you  have  or  have  not  strength.  Stretch  out 
the  withered  hand  :  not  till  then  shall  it  be  made 
whole. 

L©ok  back  upon  what  your  own  experience  has 
taught  you,  and  you  will  find  that  these  statements 
are  correct.  Remember  you  not  the  time  when  you 
have  been  awakened  to  see  that  some  great  Christian 
duty  had  been  neglected,  such  as  the  duty  of  con- 
fessing Christ  before  men ;  of  defending  his  truth  ; 
of  reproving  sin ;  of  warning  your  impenitent  friends ; 
of  confessing  your  faults  to  those  whom  you  had  of 


STEENGTH   IN   CHRIST.  295 

fended ;  of  obeying  Christ,  by  casting  out  of  your 
soul  every  unkind  or  unforgiving  temper,  and  mak- 
ing advances  of  reconciliation  towards  those  who 
had  offended  you  ?  Have  you  not  struggled  long 
with  your  rebellious  heart,  before  you  could  be  per- 
suaded to  do  what  you  seemed  to  hear  God  so  plain- 
ly commanding  ?  perhaps,  until  you  were  alarmed 
to  think  that,  continuing  in  known  sin,  you  could  no 
longer  consider  yourself  as  any  thing  more  than  a 
self-deceived  formalist  ?  Have  you  not  dreaded  to 
attempt  the  duty;  and  have  you  not  at  length, 
with  unutterable  distress,  taken  up  the  cross ;  and 
then,  in  the  very  moment  at  which  you  thought  to 
fail,  found  a  pleasure,  a  dehght,  a  peace  of  con- 
science, a  holy  joy,  an  ease  and  satisfaction,  in  this 
dreaded  duty?  Is  it  not  so?  At  that  moment 
Christ,  by  his  Spirit,  was  strengthening  you ;  and 
thus  it  will  ever  be.  ^'  Draw  nigh  unto  God,  and  he 
will  draw  nigh  unto  you."  Go  forth  in  his  name, 
and  he  will  reveal  himself  as  present  with  you  when 
you  are  least  of  all  expecting  it.  Begin  now,  I  ear- 
nestly beseech  you,  to  do  those  things  which  you 
see  to  be  your  manifest  duty.  This  is  an  exhortation 
which  brings  false  professors  to  a  safe  test.  What- 
ever you  may  feel  of  soft  emotions,  whatever  you 
may  do,  or  forbear  to  do,  you  are  in  danger  of 
condemnation  if  your  heart  can  turn  away  from  the 
light  of  the  law,  or  your  soul  rebel  against  known 
duty.  Your  faith,  if  it  do  not  teach  you  to  do  the 
will  of  God,  so  far  as  you  know  it,  is  dead,  being 
alone.     It  is  a  glorious  truth,  that  we  are  not  saved 


296  CONSOLATION. 

by  our  works ;  but  it  is  as  salutary  and  as  certain  a 
truth  that,  "  lie  that  saith  I  know  him,  and  keepeth 
not  his  commandments,  is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is 
not  in  him." 

Your  dependence  on  the  Spirit  of  Christ  will 
never  be  so  great  as  when  you  are  actively  employ- 
ed in  his  service.  Then  you  will  feel,  when  in 
labours  most  abundant,  that  you  can  do  nothing. 
Yet,  my  brethren,  we  must  receive  into  our  minds 
the  whole  of  the  idea,  without  separation.  Depend- 
ence on  God  does  not  mean  simply  a  doubt  of  our 
own  strength;  but  further  than  this,  and  princi- 
pally, a  belief  in  the  promised  strength  of  Christ. 
You  may  have  your  minds  filled  with  worldly 
thoughts,  and  your  lips  with  worldly  conversation, 
and  your  lives  with  worldly  pursuit ;  thinking,  say- 
ing, doing  nothing  for  Jesus  Christ,  and  may  still 
cry  out,  "  We  are  poor,  weak,  dependent  crea- 
tures." 

This  is  not  Christian  dependence.  Such  feel 
ings  do  not  tend  in  any  degree  to  holiness,  while 
there  is  no  looking  to  God  for  help.  Such  is  not 
the  dependence  of  Paul.  Hear  him :  "  I  can  do  all 
things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me."  It  is 
as  much  your  duty  to  trust  in  Christ's  strength  as  to 
distrust  your  own.  You  attempt  nothing  for  the 
honour  of  God  and  the  good  of  your  neighbour ;  and 
why  ? — Because  you  are  weak,  and  of  yourselves  far 
from  all  good.  True ;  and  such  you  will  ever  be 
until,  with  a  pure  heart,  you  address  yourselves  to 
the  joint  work  of  prayer  and  action.     Christ  will 


STBENGTH   IN   CHRIST.  297 

mot  give  strength  to  any  man  to  lie  unapplied  in  his 
bosom.  He  gives  grace  wlien  it  is  needed,  and  it 
is  needed  in  the  hour  of  action.  Continue  to  do 
nothing,  and  you  shall,  in  all  probability,  die  as  you 
have  lived — waiting,  waiting  for  the  moving  of  the 
waters,  when  Christ  stands  ready  and  says,  "  Wilt 
thou  be  made  whole  V 

Again,  let  every  reader  be  exhorted  to  contem- 
plate this  Christian  paradox :  When  most  active, 
most  dependent.  When  most  sensible  of  weak- 
ness, then  most  abundant  in  labour.  When  stretching 
every  power  to  honour  Christ,  then  sinking  most 
deeply  into  the  lowliness  of  selt distrust,  and  rising 
most  triumphantly  in  trust  upon  the  Lord.  When 
convinced  that  without  God's  immediate  agency  no 
duty  can  be  performed,  no  soul  converted;  then 
attempting,  with  unwearied  effort,  to  come  up  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty.  Let  us 
pray  for  large  measures  of  this  grace  of  dependence 
on  Christ :  let  us  seek  it  by  labouring  for  Christ. 
This  is  the  secret  of  being  useful  and  yet  humble. 
Would  to  God  that  we  could  acquire  it. 

There  is  an  awful  solemnity  in  the  thought  that 
our  strength  is  of  God ;  that  our  acts,  if  Christian 
acts,  are  wrought  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

When  I  am  weak  then  am  I  strong.  Let  us  be 
encouraged  to  undertake  whatever  we  consider  our 
plain  duty,  with  holy  boldness,  knowing  that  God 
calls  us  to  nothing  in  which  he  is  not  ready  to  assist 
us.  No  man  ever  undertook  a  duty,  in  reliance  on 
Christ's  aid,  who  was  left  to  struggle  in  his  own 


298  CONSOLATION. 

strength.  Those  only  are  ignorant  of  this  who  have 
no  knowledge  of  the  aid  of  the  Spirit.  Those  are 
most  ready  to  attempt  new  enterprising  and  hazard- 
ous services  for  religion,  who  have  been  oftenest 
upon  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  Christian  host;  or 
;rather — as  the  expression  applies  not  to  Christ's 
army — none  can  do  more  for  Immanuel  than  those 
who  have  hazarded  the  most.  Dare  we  cast  our- 
selves on  the  simple  word  of  divine  promise :  "  Com- 
mit thy  way  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  direct  thy 
steps  r 

Let  us  leave  this  discussion  with  the  belief  that 
there  is  no  service  or  suffering  so  great  or  trying, 
that  Christ  cannot  and  will  not  strengthen  his  peo- 
ple to  enter  upon  and  accomplish.  We  are  complete 
in  him. 


THE  COMPASSION  OF  CHRIST  TO  THE 

WEAK,  THE  SORROWING,  AND 

THE  SINFUL. 


XIII. 

THE  world  is  deceived  by  the  glare  of  seeming 
greatness ;  but  tliose  thij^gs  are  not  always  the 
best,  which  make  the  most  violent  impression.  The 
common  sun  and  air,  the  dews  and  rains  of  heaven, 
the  fertilizing  river,  and  the  silent  growth  of  fruits 
and  harvests,  which  are  the  benignant  influences  of 
our  world,  are  less  a^vakening  and  vehement  than 
the  storm,  the  volcano,  and  the  earthquake.  The 
work  of  destruction  is  often  more  startling  than  the 
progress  of  merciful  and  happy  benevolence.  It  is 
much  the  same  in  the  moral  world.  The  welfare  of 
society  is  promoted  by  a  succession  of  quiet  acts, 
scarcely  heeded  as  they  pass,  and  often  unseen, 
while  the  murderous  deeds  of  warfare  and  outrage 
are  loud  and  sudden.  It  is  too  much  the  case,  that 
we  fall  into  the  same  error  with  regard  to  spiritual 
character  and  the  interior  life  of  religion.  We  set 
great  value  on  the  outbreak  of  passionate  feeling, 
or  the  acts  which  inflame  the  multitude,  while  we 
account  but  little  of  ten  thousand  gentle  thoughts, 
words,  motions,  and  habits,  by  which  God  is  hon- 
oured, and  the  soul  is  carried  forward  toward  the 
heavenly  state. 


302  •  NSOLATION. 

Yet  wlien  we  imagine  the  condition  of  ransomed 
spiiits,  we  picture  to  ourselves  a  world  of  peculiar 
serenity  and  repose,  where  no  paroxysms  break  the 
equable  flow,  and  where  the  very  ecstasy  of  love 
and  praise  is  a  constant,  uninterrupted,  and  balanced 
glory.  So  we  judge  of  the  blessed  angels -,  and  so 
we  hope  for  ourselves,  when  we  anticipate  perfect 
holiness.  Rest  and  Peace  are  the  names  of  such  a 
paradise.  That  we  form  such  conceptions,  is  a  token 
that  in  our  sober  hours  we  set  a  superior  value  on 
those  religious  states  which  are  permanent  and  un- 
obtrusive. 

The  same  thing  appears  in  the  only  model  we 
possess  of  human  excellence.  In  the  character  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there  is  nothing  of  spasmodic 
and  convulsive  action.  The  greater  portion  of  his 
life  was  spent  in  retirement.  The  hills  and  vales  of 
Galilee,  and  the  borders  of  the  lake  of  Cinneroth, 
beheld  the  silent  loveliness  and  rapt  devotion  of  the 
Son  of  Mary.  His  precursor  and  kinsman  after  the 
flesh,  as  he  uttered  the  voice  of  Elijah  in  the  wastes 
of  Judah,  seems  never  to  have  had  a  personal  know- 
ledge of  him  whom  he  proclaimed.  And  even  when 
these  two  great  personages  met  at  the  waters  of 
Jordan,  though  the  voice  from  heaven  vouched  the 
legation  and  the  sonship  of  Jesus,  the  multitude 
knew  him  not.  He  is  hurried  away  by  the  Spirit 
into  the  wilderness,  in  order  to  conflict  with  Satan ; 
he  dwells  among  the  wild  beasts  (Mark  1 :  13),  and 
is  ministered  to  by  angels.  These  are  long  and 
secret  preparations  for  a  kingdom  which  cometh  not 


Christ's  compassion.         •  303 

by  observation.  When  John  points  him  out,  he 
expressly  adds,  "There  standeth  one  among  you 
whom  ye  know  not."  And  when  again  he  points 
him  out,  as  the  great  propitiation,  the  Lamb  of  God, 
not  the  thousands  of  Israel,  but  only  two  Galileans, 
follow  in  his  way.  When  the  third  convert,  Philip 
of  Bethsaida,  makes  known  his  discovery  to  his  guile- 
less friend,  Nathanael  answers :  "  Can  there  any  good 
thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?"  What  may  have 
been  the  feelings  of  his  near  friends  we  know  not. 
At  the  entertainment  at  Cana,  where,  by  the  "  be- 
ginning of  miracles,"  he  "  manifested  forth  his  glory." 
we  are  informed  of  the  unguarded  zeal  with  which 
the  blessed  Virgin  would  have  drawn  him  out  to  a 
premature  development  of  his  majesty.  But  his 
hour  was  not  yet  come.  And  after  this  sudden  and 
transient  flash  of  his  divinity,  he  went  back  again 
into  the  shades  of  home :  "  He  went  down  to  Ca- 
pernaum, he,  and  his  mother,  and  his  brethren,  and 
his  disciples."  John  2  :  12. 

By  all  this  we  are  reminded  of  God's  method 
of  preparing  for  great  actions.  Moses  was  forty 
years  in  the  tomb-like  palaces  of  Egypt ;  despising 
their  treasures,  but  treasuring  up  their  learning ;  and 
then  forty  years  more  in  the  desert  of  Midian,  before 
he  was  commissioned  for  his  great  work. 

Even  after  the  public  manifestation  of  Christ, 
there  is  a  singular  reserve  as  to  fuller  disclosure  of 
his  greatness.  His  most  explicit  I'cvelatiens  are 
made  in  private  and  to  humble  individuals,  as  to  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  and  the    man   that  was  bora 


304  CONSOLATION. 

blind ;  and  even  his  miracles  were  left  to  work  their 
principal  effect,  as  evidence,  when  he  should  be  risen 
from  the  dead.  Now  and  then,  indeed,  he  breaks 
forth  into  signal  demonstrations  of  authority,  as 
when  he  scourges  out  the  profaners  of  the  temple, 
and  feeds  the  multitudes ;  but  more  usually  there 
is  no  proclamation  of  his  greatness.  He  calls  the 
humblest  men,  one  by  one,  or  in  pairs,  from  fishing- 
boats  and  money -tables.  After  transcendent  mi- 
racles, he  rises  before  dawn,  goes  into  a  solitary 
place,  and  prays.  "  All  men  seek  for  thee  ;"  but  he 
goes  at  once  to  preach  from  town  to  town,  notwith- 
standing their  importunities.  Matt.  8  :  17.  He 
heals  a  leper ;  but  it  is  with  the  injunction,  "  See 
thou  say  nothing  unto  any  man ;"  and  when  the 
sensation  through  the  country  side  brings  crowds 
around  him,  it  is  expressly  said,  "  Jesus  could  no 
more  openly  enter  into  the  city,  but  he  went  with- 
out to  desert  places,  and  he  withdrew  himself  into 
the  wilderness  and  prayed,  and  they  came  to  him 
from  every  quarter."  Secrecy  and  devotion  are  the 
beloved  retreat  of  holy  minds.  Humility  and 
contemplation  and  lamenting  love,  all  seek  the 
shade,  where,  like  the  turtle  dove,  they  grieve  and 
are  unseen. 

Though  our  Lord  must  have  come  into  contact 
with  a  very  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pal- 
estine, he  retreated  from  public  show,  and  the  accla- 
mations of  the  mass.  "  I  receive  not  honour  from 
men."  He  did  not  covet  the  ostentatious  conflict  of 
the  foolhardy  martyr  of  fanaticism.   When  he  knew 


CHEISt's   COMPASSION".  305 

t)f  conspiracy,  "  lie  withdrew  himself  with  his  disci- 
ples to  the  sea" — that  beautiful  sea,  which  is  ever 
siace  consecrated  in  the  recollections  of  believers. 
"  Great  multitudes  followed  him,  from  Galilee,  and 
from  Judea,  and  from  Jerusalem,  and  from  Idumea, 
and  from  beyond  Jordan :  and  they  about  Tyre  and 
Sidon,  a  great  multitude,  when  they  had  heard  what 
things  he  did,  came  unto  him.  And  he  spake  to  his 
disciples,  that  a  small  ship  should  wait  on  him,  be- 
cause of  the  multitude,  lest  they  should  throng 
him.  For  he  had  healed  many;  insomuch  that 
they  rushed*  upon  him  for  to  touch  him,  as 
many  as  had  plagues ;  and  he  healed  them  all" — as 
well  those  who  cast  themselves  upon  him  in  the 
frenzy  of  agonizing  importunity  and  headlong  crav- 
ing, as  those  who  besought  him  at  a  distance,  with 
the  homage  of  an  awe  which  feared  to  profane  the 
hem  of  his  garment — "  he  healed  them  all.  And  un- 
clean spirits,  when  they  saw  him,  fell  down  before 
him,  and  cried,  saying,  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God !  and 
he  straitly  charged  them  that  the}'  should  not  make 
him  known."  Not  that  his  mighty  works  could  re- 
main absolutely  private,  or  that  he  desired  them  to 
be  buried  in  oblivion.  This  had  b^en  to  defeat  the 
very  end  of  his  mission.  The  intention  of  the  mira- 
cles was  to  attest  his  divine  legation.  But  from 
various  passages  we  learn  that  the  grand  revelation 
of  the  body  of  evidence  was  postponed  until  a  criti- 
cal point  in  his  mediatorial  history — ^the  resurrection 
from  the  dead.    This,  as  it  was  in  itself  the  visible 

*  Margin. 

20 


306  CONSOLATION. 

seal  of  Heaven  on  his  teaching,  was  that  whicli 
brought  to  recollection,  and  so  to  public  view,  tLe 
tide  of  beneficent  and  supernatural  wonders  which 
had  been  flowing  together  for  several  years,  as  so 
many  streams,  to  form  a  torrent  of  evidence,  which 
at  the  appointed  time  should  burst  forth  with  irre- 
sistible conviction.  By  the  sea  of  Galilee,  however, 
he  chose  to  repress  the  untimely  fame,  and  to  com- 
plete the  quiet  lowliness  of  his  humiliation ;  for  we 
read  that  it  was  agreeable  to  the  oracle  of  Isaiah, 
42  :  1 :  "  Behold  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen  ; 
my  beloved  in  whom  my  soul  delighteth :  I  will  put 
my  Spirit  upon  him,  and  he  shall  show  judgment  to 
the  Gentiles.  He  shall  not  strive  nor  cry,  neither 
ehall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets."  His 
entrance  was  with  no  flourish  of  heraldic  trumpets ; 
no  kingly  harbingers  forewarned  the  multitude  of 
the  entrance  of  a  king;  no  voice  of  murmuring 
thousands  accompanied  the  progress  of  their  de- 
liverer ;  no  clamour  of  contention  broke  from  his 
lips,  even  in  behalf  of  his  down-trodden  country. 
Kebellion  found  no  countenance  from  his  meek  and 
holy  presence.  The  Herodians,  and  such  as  refused 
tribute,  heard  Bim  remand  them  to  Caesar.  In  his 
very  walks  of  love,  as  he  went  about  doing  good, 
while  the  largesses  of  his  charity  flowed  to  thousands, 
he  fled  from  the  thanks  and  praises  of  his  beneficiaries, 
and  stole  away,  again  and  again,  from  the  captivated 
populace,  to  cast  himself  before  his  Father,  in  the 
cold  recesses  of  .the  mountain  or  the  strand.  His 
voice  was  ascending  to  heaven  in  solitary  interces- 


Christ's  compassion.  307 

sion:  it  was  not  heard  in  the  streets.  "A  bruised 
reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  smoking  flax  shall  he 
not  quench." 

There  is  here  a  transition  of  a  natural  and  pleas- 
ing kind,  from  the  gentleness  of  the  Messiah's 
character  to  the  feebleness  and  insignificance  of  his 
people.  That  feebleness  and  insignificance  he  will, 
not  despise  or  crush,  but  will  uphold  it  as  a  means 
towards  his  victory.  Though  the  King  of  Glory,  at 
whose  approach  the  everlasting  gates  are  hfted  up, 
he  stoops  to  the  lowest  and  most  burdened.  It  h 
the  same^  connection  of  ideas  which  occurs  in  that 
matchless  invitation,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that 
labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest : 
take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me ;  for  I  am 
meek  and  lowly,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your 
souls."  It  is  by  reason  of  this  meekness,  this  lowli- 
ness, this  serene  and  retiring  and  silent  compassion, 
that  the  shrinking,  and  the  self-condemned,  the 
fainting  and  the  unprofitable,  are  emboldened  to 
draw  nigh.  The  encouragement  might  be  less  cheer- 
ing if  it  had  not  been  inscribed  centuries  before  the 
advent,  on  the  very  scroll  of  his  prophetic  and  re- 
gal commission,  and  if  we  had  not  heard  it  among 
the  ancient  titles  of  his  Messiahship :  "  A  bruised  reed 
shall  he  not  break,  and  smoking  flax  shall  he  not 
quench." 

The  reed  is  at  best  an  ignoble  growth  in  the 
vegetable  world ;  having  no  rank  among  the  sturdy 
trunks  of  the  forest;  rejoicing  in  no  verdure  of 
shady  foliage,  and   scattering  no   flowers   or  fruit 


808  CONSOLATION. 

into  tlie  lap  of  toil.  It  may  minister  support,  as  the 
most  slender  staff,  or  solace  a  weary  hour  as  the 
shepherd's  pipe ;  but  it  can  never  be  the  weapon  of 
war  or  the  timber  of  architecture.  Springing  in 
fens  and  marshes,  it  is  an  image  of  weakness  and 
poverty.  Thus,  "  the  Lord  shall  smite  Israel  as  a 
reed  shaken  in  the  water,"  1  Kings  14  :  15 — a  mean, 
defenceless  thing  of  nought.  The  Egyptians,  as  a 
useless  resort,  are  "  a  staff  of  reed  to  the  house  of 
Israel."  Ez.  25  :  9.  And  John  the  Baptist,  for  his 
firmness  and  constancy,  is  contrasted  with  "  a  reed 
shaken  of  the  wind."  But  a  broken  reed  is  some- 
thing viler  still.  Of  small  value  in  its  integrity,  it 
is  below  notice  when  crushed.  Who  will  look  upon 
it,  or  pick  its  broken  stem  from  the  highway,  or  the 
water  side?  It  can  picture  nothing  better  than 
the  weakest  and  lowliest  of  all  whom  Christ  re- 
lieves. Shall  the  bruised  object  be  trampled  down 
and  left?  The  foot  of  pride  might  so  deal  with 
conscious  wretchedness ;  but  such  is  not  the  dealing 
of  infinite  Love :  "  He  shall  not  break  the  bruised 
reed."  The  prophet  employs  another  and  a  kindred 
metaphor,  drawn  from  the  common  lamps  of  the 
Hebrews,  in  which  the  humble  wick  was  of  nothing 
better  than  flax.  The  office  of  the  lamp  is  to  blaze 
and  give  light ;  but  when  instead  of  this  it  barely 
smokes,  it  is  of  all  household  objects  one  of  the 
most  useless,  noisome,  and  offensive ;  and  we  hasten 
^to  extinguish  it.  Not  so  the  benign  Redeemer :  he 
does  not  extinguish  even  that  which  flickers  in  the 
socket,  and  is  ready  to  die  out.    The  smoking  flax 


Christ's  compassion.  309 

he  shall  not  quench.  It  is  part  of  his  Messiahship  to 
spare  the  perishing  and  rejected,  the  outcast  reed, 
the  half-quenched  lamp.  Blessed  be  his  name !  his 
princely  advent  is  accompanied  with  a  proclamation 
fitted  to  "  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble,  and  to  re- 
vive the  heart  of  the  contrite  ones."     Is.  57  :  15. 

From  the  whole  imagery  of  that  text  and  con- 
text, we  derive  the  truth,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  his  princely  work  as  Messiah,  looks  with  forbear- 
ance and  compassion  on  the  weakest  and  most  de- 
spised of  his  people.  It  is  a  topic  not  inappropri- 
ate to  our  series  of  consolations ;  for  it  is  well 
known  that  humble,  tempted,  and  desponding  per- 
sons are  often  ready  to  doubt  their  own  welcome, 
and  to  deny  themselves  the  blessings  which  consti- 
tute the  portion.  I  mean  therefore  to  inquire,  who 
those  character  are,  designated  by  the  bruised  reed 
and  the  smoking  flax. 

And  First,  Tlie  weak  are  such.  Their  type  is 
the  reed,  and  the  reed  almost  crushed.  Such  a  one 
often  comes  to  the  sanctuary  in  the  spirit  of  the 
Syrophenician,  miable  to  claim  any  thing,  yet  plead- 
ing with  irrepressible  desire :  Yea,  Lord,  but  the 
dogs  do  eat  of  the  crumbs  from  the  Master's  table. 
The  soul  trembles,  lest  this  debility  of  grace  be  the 
want  of  title,  and  almost  hears  the  words  :  *  'Friend, 
how  camest  thou  in  hither — not  having  a  wedding- 
garment."  Or  can  scarce  lift  up  the  eyes  to  the 
place  of  emblematic  propitiation,  but  is  ready  to 
smite  the  breast,  crying,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner."     Others  may  be  pillars  in  God's  house,  but 


310  CONSOLATION. 

I  am  but  a  rush,  a  reed,  a  bruised  reed ;  of  little 
value  to  my  neighbour — of  no  value  to  my  Lord.  I 
am  feeble  in  knowledge.  There  is  more  in  Scrip- 
ture that  is  dark  than  light  to  my  understanding. 
I  am  in  doubts  and  perplexities.  I  am  low  in  faith. 
The  frames  of  high  assurance  which  others  enjoy, 
are  not  mine.  Scarcely  can  I  write  myself  among 
God's  people.  I  am  weak  in  purpose,  and  failing  in 
resolution ;  weak  in  conflict,  and  often  flying  before 
the  enemy ;  weak  in  fortitude,  and  sinking  under 
my  cares  The  grasshopper  is  a  burden.  I  faint  in 
the  day  of  adversity,  and  my  strength  is  small. 
Others  may  think  well  of  me — but  I  know  myself 
better.  My  light  is  dim — not  a  lamp  of  the  golden 
candlestick — not  a  torch  in  a  sheaf — not  even  a 
candle  to  give  light  to  all  in  the  house.  So  small 
is  my  wisdom,  so  dull  my  example,  so  hesitating  and 
infrequent  and  fearful  my  words  of  grace,  that  I  am 
no  more  than  a  dying  wick,  repulsive  and  useless. 
These  are  not  uncommon  exercises;  though  they 
seem  such  to  the  subjects  of  them.  Every  Sabbath 
the  doors  of  the  sanctuary  open  to  some  of  this 
class.  They  love  God's  house,  and  resort  to  God's 
altars,  as  the  timid,  aflfrighted  sparrow  to  her  nest. 
They  dare  not  refuse  Christ's  dying  invitation — 
while  they  dare  as  little  claim  the  children's  bread. 
And  I  ask  particular  attention  to  the  statement — 
that  these  persons  are  sometimes  among  those  who 
make  no  public  profession  of  faith. 

They  are  deeply  humbled  at  the  knowledge  of 
their  own  deficiencies,  both  in  nature  and  grace; 


CHRIST^S   COMPASSION.  311 

and  never  liarbour  a  thouglit  of  seeking  any  advan- 
tage by  their  merits.  Not  for  an  instant  do  they 
fancy  themselves  rich,  increased  in  goods,  eminent 
saints,  harmless  people  whom  God  will  not  condemn : 
not  for  an  instant  do  they  stand  and  thank  God 
that  they  are  better  than  the  publican,  or  rehearse 
prayers,  alms,  and  fasts.  Not  for  an  instant  do  they 
look  on  their  house  as  made  ready  for  the  Master : 
"  I  am  not  worthy  thou  shouldest  come  under  my 
roof."  To  take  the  tearful  place  of  Mary,  the  sinful 
woman,  at  his  feet — they  would  consider  heaven. 
They  cannot  look  at  Sinai :  they  cannot  look  at  the 
law :  they  cannot  look  at  themselves :  "  Unclean ! 
unclean !" — the  cry  of  the  leper,  is  their  cry.  They 
think  not  of  lessening  their  sins  ;  their  best  prayer 
is,  "  Pardon  mine  iniquity,  because  it  is  great."  They 
confess  judgment,  and  have  not  a  word  to  say  why 
sentence  should  not  pass  to  execution.  In  view  of 
God's  righteous  demand,  and  their  account,  they  are 
dumb  in  their  insolvency,  when  rigorous  Justice 
takes  them  by  the  throat,  saying.  Pay  me  what 
thou  owest !  Mark  this.  It  is  characteristic.  It  is 
critical.  It  distinguishes  the  broken  spirit  from  the 
loose  sinner  who  desires  and  attempts  no  holiness, 
and  from  the  starched,  complacent,  moral,  respect- 
able, well-doing  Pharisee,  who  feels  no  want.  These 
are  God's  poor.  Hearken  to  the  voice  of  silver 
notes  from  the  mount  of  the  Beatitudes  :  "  Blessed 
are  (not  the  rich  but)  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Blessed  are  (not  the 
proud  but)  the  meak,  for   they  shaU  inherit  the 


312  CONSOLATION. 

eart;li.  Blessed  are  (not  the  full  and  sated  but) 
they  which  do  hunger  and  thrist  after  righteous- 
ness, for  they  shall  be  filled."  Even  through  the 
courts  of  God's  house  there  do  stalk  some,  whose 
elation  and  spiritual  self-esteem  will  scarcely  be  be- 
holden for  any  thing,  even  to  Jehovah.  "  There  is 
a  generation  that  are  pure  in  their  own  eyes,  and 
yet  are  not  washed  from  their  filthiness !  There  is 
a  generation,  O  how  lofty  are  their  eyes  !  and  their 
eyelids  are  lifted  up."  Prov.  20  :  12, 13.  There  lived 
in  the  days  of  Christ,  "certain  which  trusted  in 
themselves  that  they  were  righteous,  and  despised 
others."  They  live  in  our  day,  and  in  our  churches. 
But  they  are  not  bruised  reeds,  or  smoking  flax : 
and  their  hopes  are  not  in  this  promise.  The  word 
which  sounds  here  from  the  gospel,  is  a  "  word  to 
him  that  is  weary."  God  resisteth  the  proud  and 
giveth  grace  unto  the  humble.  The  sense  of  weak- 
ness, provided  it  be  deplored  and  bewailed,  is  no 
disqualification  for  receiving  free  gifts.  Grace  is  gra- 
tuity. "  Salvation  is  of  God."  Heaven  has  no  seats 
for  those  who  earn  eternal  life.  It  is  into  the  empty 
vessel,  that  the  divine  favour  pours  its  fulness.  It  is  to 
kindle  the  expiring  lamps,  that  He  who  walks  among 
the  golden  candlesticks  comes  into  his  tabernacles 
this  day. 

The  figure  of  our  text  designates  the  sorrow- 
ful. I  see  their  very  image  in  the  bruised  reed, 
which  has  been  rolled  over  by  the  wheel  of  pride — 
the  smoking  flax,  which  sobs  away  its  strength  and 
gives  no  light,  because  it  has  none.     There  is  a  phi 


oheist's  compassion  313 

losophy  of  this  world  wliicli  keeps  itself  comfortably 
cool  and  calm  in  a  land  of  misery,  by  a  method  of 
abstraction  whicli  makes  no  man's  sorrows  its  own. 
It  sees  many  a  man  lying  half-dead  by  the  wayside, 
but  it  must  maintain  its  dignified  equanimity :  it 
passes  by  on  the  other  side.  Hear  its  lectures  of 
worldly-wisdom  :  "  You  must  not  be  so  soft-hearted 
— repress  your  sympathies — they  are  childish — they 
are  womanish.  Admit  a  little  pang  for  your  own 
family,  cfr  your  immediate  circle — but  do  not  lend 
an  ear  to  every  cry  of  distress." 

Knock  at  no  such  door !  Child  of  misfortune, 
seek  not  to  melt  that  polished  marble  heart !  Tempt 
not  the  sneer  of  such  condescending  selfishness.  O, 
bruised  reed,  go  to  Christ!  There,  there  is  the 
heart  which  made  every  human  ill  its  own.  Go  to 
the  followers  of  Christ :  "  Who  is  weak,  and  I  am  not 
weak  ?  who  is  offended  and  I  burn  not  ?"  Go  to  those 
whose  maxim  is,  "  Rejoice  with  them  that  do  re- 
joice, and  weep  with  them  that  weep."  It  is  the 
spirit  of  Messiah.  He  came  to  exemplify  and  com- 
municate it.  While  on  his  triumphal  progress  to 
judgment  and  victory,  he  beholds  the  downtrodden 
object  in  his  way,  stays  his  victorious  wheels,  de- 
scends from  his  car,  takes  the  bruised  reed, 
and  cherishes  and  erects  it  into  health  and  vigor. 
And  where  self-important  man  would  extinguish  the 
failing  light,  he  approaches  the  flax  which  scarcely 
smokes,  and  breathes  new  life  into  the  flame. 

If  the  gospel  were  not  a  message  to  sufferers — 
to   great  sufferers,   to    sufferers    the    most  solitary. 


814  CONSOLATIOl^. 

neglected  and  abject — it  would  not  be  a  message, 
my  brethren,  for  ns.  If  religion  could  not  display 
its  glories  where  there  are  great  trials — among  the 
aged,  poor,  infirm,  sick,  desponding,  and  disheart- 
ened, we  might  erase  from  the  catalogue  the  larger 
part  of  Christ's  friends.  But  to  show  that  his 
religion  was  open  to  the  wretched,  and  to  show 
that  for  such  it  was  a  balm,  the  Redeemer  of  men 
took  on  him  not  merely  human  form,  but  human 
sorrows. 

We  sometimes  come  to  take  a  glimpse  of  his  humi- 
liation. "  Himself  took  our  infirmities  and  bare  our 
sicknesses."  Behold  the  man !  in  pains,  in  sorrows, 
in  degradations,  in  fears,  in  agonies — a  man !  bone  of 
our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh  1  Can  he  not  feel  ? 
Can  he  not  have  a  fellow-feeling  ?  Did  he  not  bear 
the  same  shrinking  fibre  and  nerve  that  thrills  with 
our  anguish  ?  Behold  the  man !  He  comes  forth, 
wearing  the  purple  robe  and  the  crown  of  thorns — 
weary,  languid,  fainting,  spit  upon,  betrayed,  con- 
demned, all  bloody  from  Gethsemane  and  the  human 
scourge — about  to  bear  his  cross,  and  to  be  nailed 
to  it,  to  thirst,  to  be  excruciated,  to  die !  Behold 
him,  ye  who  are  bruised.  It  pleased  the  Lord  to 
bruise  him ;  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities — de- 
spised, rejected — a  man  of  sorrows,  acquainted  with 
grief  —  stricken,  smitten,  afflicted,  wounded  —  a 
slaughtered  lamb  travailing  in  woe — pouring  out 
his  soul  in  death!  Surely  he  will  not  break  the 
bruised  reed.  Though  all  men  trample  on  it,  yet 
will  not  he.     He  cannot — he  doth  not.     And  none 


oheist's  compassion.  815 

better  know  this  tlian  they  who  suffer.  They  can 
venture  to  cast  their  burden  on  him,  who  denied 
them  not  the  endurance  of  their  agony,  when  it  was 
demanded  by  the  law. 

The  scriptural  figure  has  been  seen  to  include 
the  weak  and  the  sorrowful.  I  add,  thirdly  and 
lastly,  it  includes  the  sinner.  If  it  did  not,  it 
would  be  all  lost  on  us.  Under  the  first  head,  the 
infirmity  described  was  a  sinful  infirmity,  and  we 
consider  moral  obliquities  and  defects  as  a  part  of 
it.  But  the  same  depravity  which  we  there  viewed 
as  weakness,  we  are  here  to  view  as  sin.  For  this  is 
the  very  stumbling-block  of  the  troubled  conscience, 
and  so  long  as  this  lies  across  the  way,  there  is  no 
reaching  the  cross.  In  vain  do  I  proclaim  to  the 
drooping  culprit  that  Christ  invites  the  weak  and  the 
sorrowing.  Yes !  I  am  indeed  both ;  but  I  am  more 
than  weak,  more  than  sorrowful.  I  am  vile — behold 
I  am  vile !  crimson  and  scarlet  cover  all  my  life. 
Iniquities  prevail  against  me;  one  of  a  thousand 
would  destroy  me.  The  Master  is,  I  know,  com- 
passionate, but  he  is  holy.  He  will  pity  infirmity 
and  wipe  away  tears ;  but  sin  is  that  which  his  soul 
hateth.     I  am  excluded,  because  I  am  a  sinner. 

Let  me  plead  with  this  unbelieving  one.  Jesus, 
who  appears  as  a  consoler,  has  a  message  for  thee. 
You  are  a  sinner,  vastly  worse  than  you  have  de- 
scribed or  dreamed.  TTiis  man  receweth  sinners. 
It  is  the  disease  he  came  to  cure.  Will  you  go  to 
the  surgeon  and  hide  your  chief  wound  ?  Ah !  you 
then  deem  it  incurable !  that  is,  you  doubt  the  re 


816  CONSOLATION. 

medy.  If  you  were  better,  you  would  apply  for  his 
touch.  But  what  saith  he  ?  They  that  are  whole 
need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  I  am 
come  to  call  not  the  righteous  but  sinners.  I  am 
not  sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep.  To  the  Pharisaic 
mind  this  is  amazing ;  for  its  maxim  is,  that  grace 
must  be  purchased,  that  Christ  receives  us  on  con- 
ditions. For  generations  the  Jewish  clergy  had  been 
walling  themselves  out  from  the  unclean ;  they  would 
not  eat  with  them,  or  speak  to  them,  or  touch" 
them.  Jesus  trode  down  and  broke  through  all 
these  partitions,  and  there  was  a  doctrine  in  his 
practice  which  perplexed  and  disgusted  the  Jew- 
ish precisians.  "Why  eateth  your  master  with 
publicans  and  sinners  V  "  Behold  a  friend  of  publi- 
cans and  sinners !"  Did  he  repel  them  ?  Nay, 
he  said  to  the  righteous  ones,  "  The  publicans  and 
the  harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you." 
And  the  history  adds,  "  the  publicans  and  harlots 
believed  him."  Levi  and  Zaccheus  and  Mary  em- 
braced a  gratuitous  salvation. 

The  chief  of  sinners  has  part  in  the  offer.  It  is 
worthy  of  all  acceptation.  Be  not  weary  of  the  fa- 
miliar truth  ;  account  it  not  as  the  "  light  food,"  the 
"  manna"  which  the  world  rejects,  while  the  "  full 
soul  loatheth  the  honeycomb."  Come  ye,  buy  and 
eat,  yea  come,  buy  wine  and  milk,  without  money  and 
without  price.  It  is  the  echo  between  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New,  "  Though  your  sins  be  «s 
scarlet,  they  shall  be  white  as  snow  ;  though  the'^ 
be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool." 


Christ's  compassion.  31  T 

You  are  a  professor,  and  have  sinned  in  the 
church.  It  is  so;  it  is  dreadful;  it  is  amazing;  it 
is  more  black  and  damning  than  you  think.  You 
have  broken  vows ;  you  have  been  unfruitful ;  you 
have  hated  your  brother  in  your  heart ;  you  have 
denied  your  Lord.  It  is  a  bruise  more  serious  than 
others — your  crushing  bruise.  David  felt  it — Peter 
felt  it.  But  he  of  whom  we  speak  is  Jesus ;  he 
shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins.  He  will  not 
overlook  the  principal  malady.  The  bruised  reed 
shall  he  not  break.  He  will  not  put  out  the  expir- 
ing glimmer  of  your  corrupt,  offensive  lamp;  the 
smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench.  If  he  came  with 
healing  for  all  diseases  but  one — this  one — he  would 
come  in  vain.  Here  is  the  hydra's  head,  and  he 
strikes  at  it.  Sin  and  sorrow  came  in  together  in  Eden ; 
sin  and  sorrow  shall  go  out  together  at  the  Judgment. 
And  during  the  interval,  though  they  remain — 
though  the  sting  is  still  sin — though  there  is  a  law 
in  your  members  warring  against  the  law  of  your 
mind — though  it  sometimes  oppresses  your  living 
graces  as  a  body  of  death — yet  thanks  be  to  God, 
who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ! 

The  doctrine  of  this  grace  may  be  abused :  the 
grace  itself  cannot  be.  The  lamentations  to  which 
these  truths  are  directed  proceed  from  those  who 
cry  out,  as  they  writhe  in  the  mighty  coils  of  their 
serpentine  enemy.  Whether  in  the  church,  or  out  of 
it,  if  you  detest  that  which  is  closest  to  you — your 
sin — if  this  bruise  of  the  spirit  is  your  daily  pain ;  if 


318  CONSOLATIOK. 

you  long  as  importunately  to  be  cleansed  of  your 
leprosy  as  to  be  pronounced  clean  by  the  priest ;  if 
you  see  in  Christ's  body  and  blood  deliverance  as 
well  as  pardon;  then,  no  matter  bow  great  your 
sense  of  sins,  your  help  is  at  hand.  You  may  have 
lain  long  in  the  porches  of  Bethesda,  among  the  great 
multitude  of  "  impotent  folk."  You  may  have  wit- 
nessed repeated  seasons,  when  the  angel  descended 
into  the  pool  and  troubled  the  water.  You  may 
have  had  no  man  to  put  you  into  the  pool.  While 
you  have  been  making  the  effort,  others  may  have 
stepped  down  before  you  into*  the  cleansing  laver. 
Yet  this  day  there  is  one  among  you  whom  ye  know 
not.  And  as  his  benignant  eye  fastens  on  you,  he 
says,  "  Wilt  thou  be  made  whole  ?"  Nay,  he  says, 
"  Take  up  thy  bed  and  walk !"  The  smoking  flax 
is  almost  dead,  but  here  is  "  the  Light  of  the 
World."  It  would  indeed  be  a  profanation  beyond 
remedy  if  you  should  make  the  blood  of  Christ  the 
encouragement  to  remain  in  sin ;  it  would  be  turn- 
ing the  grace  of  God  into  licentiousness :  it  would 
be  trampling  on  the  crucified  body  of  the  Lord ;  if 
persevered  in,  it  would  be  certain  destruction.  But 
it  would  be  all  this  simply  because  it  would  be  re- 
jecting the  offered  salvation.  The  salvation  is  as 
truly  from  pollution  as  from  guilt.  The  acceptance 
of  it  is  not  possible,  except  where  sin  is  the  burden 
from  which  the  soul  flies  with  abhorrence.  The 
terms  of  the  free  gospel  may  be  abused ;  they  have 
been  abused.  But  the  danger  does  not  lie  in  over- 
rating the  fulness,  freeness,  nearness,  and  accessible- 


cheist's  compassion.  319 

ness  of  the  invitation ;  nor  is  it  to  be  avoided  l)y 
annexing  legal  conditions  to  tlie  grant.  'No  atro- 
city of  licentious  Antinomian  presumption  can  ren- 
der the  gift  less  free  or  Christ  less  compassionate. 
His  immaculate  holiness  turns  away,  indeed,  from 
the Jieaven-daring  impiety  of  hypocritical  professors, 
who  resolve  to  venture  on  known  sin,  while  they 
cry,  "  Lord,  Lord,"  and  plunge  deeper  in  iniquity 
and  guilt,  because  there  is  pardon  for  transgressors ; 
from  this,  I  say,  the  pure  and  righteous  Saviour 
turns  away  with  infinite  repugnance ;  nevertheless, 
bis  divine,  unbounded  love  abides  unchangeable  ; 
and  no  malignancy  of  the  wicked  can  avail  for  a 
moment  to  quench  his  compassions,  or  stay  the  hand 
of  his  relief  Though  your  grief,  therefore,  be  sin 
itself ;  though  your  bruised  spirit  sinks  most  under 
the  recollection  and  consciousness  of  sin ;  yet,  if 
your  inmost  soul  abhors  the  plague,  and  cries  to  be 
delivered  from  it,  the  Messiah  of  our  prophetic  word 
will  not  reject  you.  He  will  not  refuse  to  lift  you 
up  because  your  distress  is  one  caused  by  the  great- 
est of  all  evils.  And,  in  the  language  of  Davies  on 
this  text,  the  desponding  soul  should  thus  think : 
"  Has  God  kindled  the  sacred  iiame  in  his  heart  in 
order  to  render  him  capable  of  the  more  exquisite 
pain  ?  Will  he  exclude  from  his  presence  the  poor 
creature  that  clings  to  him,  and  languishes  for  him  ? 
No ;  the  flax  that  does  but  smoke  with  his  love  was 
never  intended  to  be  fuel  for  hell ;  but  he  will  blow 
it  up  into  a  flame,  and  nourish  it,  till  it  minglea 


520  CONSOLATION. 

with  tlie  seraphic  ardors  in  the  region   of  perfect 
love."* 

Weak,  and  sorrowful,  and  sinful  though  you  be, 
you  are  come  to  behold  One  who  gives  strength, 
peace,  and  righteousness ;  who  died,  and  yet  lives 
who  "  was  made  sin  for  us,"  in  the  manner  exhibited 
in  previous  pages,  and  who  "  of  God  is  made  unto 
us  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification  and  redemp- 
tion." 

*  The  fifth  sermon  of  President  Da  vies  on  this  text  :g  earnestif 
commended  to  the  attention  of  all  readers. 


CONSOLATION  UNDER  THE  JUDGMENIVS 

OF  MEN. 


XIY. 

THE  wounds  of  tlie  soul  are  not  always  sucn  as 
bleed  outwardly,  nor  is  the  most  poignant  an- 
guish caused  by  visible  agents.  "When  we  speak  of 
consolation,  our  minds  naturally  call  up  the  images 
of  illness,  bereavement,  or  peril  of  life  or  limb.  But 
man'^is  so  constituted,  that  an  assault  on  reputation, 
or  even  a  public  or  general  censure  of  conduct  and 
character,  will  often  inflict  as  keen  and  lasting  pain 
as  the  piercing  of  a  sword.  There  are,  moreover, 
some  who  could  with  more  equanimity  go  to  the 
cannon's  mouth  than  withstand  the  voice  of  disap- 
probation, when  proceeding  from  great  numbers,  or 
from  persons  of  rank  and  importance.  And  when 
censure  and  rebuke  actually  fall,  there  is  always  an 
emotion  of  unhappiness,  at  least  for  a  time,  under 
which  the  supports  of  religion  are  as  truly  needed 
as  under  the  more  palpable  inflictions  which  have 
passed  so  largely  under  our  review.  Nor  is  there 
any  means  of  rising  altogether  above  such  suffering 
except  that  which  is  afforded  by  Christianity ;  be- 
cause the  true  believer  is  the  only  man  who  can  ra- 
tionally ^nd  universally  appeal  from  the  judgment 
of  man  to  the  judgment  of  God. 


324  CONSOLATION. 

To  do  rigHt,  to  do  always  rigM,  aud  to  do  it 
without  concern  as  to  the  judgment  of  human  crea- 
tures, belongs  to  the  very  highest  degrees  of  moral 
culture,  to  the  strong  man  in  Christ  Jesus,  Yet  we 
should  strive  after  it,  as  indispensable  as  well  to  our 
holiness  as  our  happiness.  The  contrary  temper  is 
continually  brought  to  our  knowledge  in  others  and  in 
ourselves.  The  world  is  to  a  great  extent  governed 
by  a  regard  for  human  opinion.  Instead  of  tracing 
all  seemingly  good  actions  up  to  the  impulses  of  rea- 
son and  conscience,  we  are  frequently  constrained  to 
admit  that  their  actors  have  done  them  in  order  to 
be  seen  of  men.  Even  the  truly  Christian  man, 
while  in  the  main  he  follows  the  dictates  of  duty  and 
of  God,  pursues  this  path  through  violent  struggles, 
and  at  great  expense  of  feeling.  When  by  grace  he 
has  succeeded  in  accomplishing  his  duty  against  the 
opinion  of  many,  perhaps  of  most,  sometimes  in- 
cluding highly  valued  and  excellent  persons,  he  is 
deeply  conscious  that  he  has  come  out  of  a  conflict, 
and  has  barely  escaped  from  yielding  to  the  power 
which  attracted  in  another  direction.  But  this  case 
is  far  too  favourable.  Multitudes  are  daily  kept 
from  doing  or  attempting  what  they  know  to  be 
right,  by  the  dread  of  what  fellow-creatures  will 
say  or  think.  It  is  precisely  this  which  keeps  some 
from  entering  on  a  religious  life,  and  owning  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  before  men.  And  this  i^but  one 
of  a  thousand  obligations,  which  men  neglect  from 
fear  of  human  judgment.  In  this  there  is  such  a 
weakness,  that  we  are  prompt  to  despise  it,  when  pre- 


HUMAN   CENSUEE.  fl^Jl/'>      &^5^/^ 

sented  in  the  abstract,  or  in  tlie  case  of  anotlieri  > 
while  we  are  perpetually  incurring  the  same  cqi^-^  "*  7 
demnation  by  our  indecision  and  cowardice.  As  i  A. 
the  character  thus  formed  is  insusceptible  of  true 
greatness,  so  it  is  liable  to  unspeakable  misery.  No 
man  can  lift  up  his  head  with  manly  calmness  and 
peace,  who  is  the  slave  of  other  men's  judgments. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  great  moment,  in  our 
discipline  of  heart  and  life,  to  keep  before  our  minds 
those  considerations,  which  shall  dispose  and  enable 
us  to  say  with  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  a  notable  in- 
stance, "With  me  it  is  a  very  small  thing  that  I 
should  be  judged  of  you  or  of  man's  judgment." 
Let  us,  therefore,  meditate  on  the  means  which,  by 
God's  blessing,  shall  lift  us  above  this  dependence 
on  the  thoughts,  caprices,  and  censures  of  mankind, 
and  shall  console  us  when  we  incur  them. 

I.  The  first  which  I  shall  mention  is  a  clear 
discernment  of  what  our  duty  is.  Here  some  will 
be  disposed  to  say  that  every  man  knows  what  is 
right  and  what  is  wrong,  and  that  the  only  defect 
is  in  the  will  to  perform  it.  But  this  is  one  of  those 
half  truths,  which  often  do  the  office  of  falsehood. 
In  nothing  do  men  differ  more  than  in  the  distinct- 
ness with  which  they  apprehend  the  line  of  duty. 
Conscience,  though  existing  in  all  men,  does  not  in 
all  men  exert  itself  with  equal  power.  Conscience 
is  often  called  the  vicegerent  of  God  in  the  heart ; 
but  this  is  not  to  be  taken  in  such  a  sense  as  shall 
confound  God  and  conscience.  As  a  human  faculty 
con«cience  is  limited,  improvable,  or  capable  of  dc- 


326  CONSOLATION. 

velopment,  and  fallible.  As  tlie  faculty  of  falleu 
man,  it  is  sometimes  dark  and  uninformed,  and 
sometimes  erroneous.  The  actings  of  conscience 
are  twofold;  first,  to  discern  wliat  is  riglit  and 
wrong ;  secondly,  to  recompense  riglit  or  wrong  ac- 
tion with  correspondent  pleasure  or  pain.  In  one  of 
vthese  functions  it  is  combined  with  the  understand- 
ing, and  may  therefore  err,  and  be  instructed.  If  it 
were  not  so,  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  moral 
instruction,  and  no  need  of  any  revelation  of  God's 
will  in  the  Scriptures.  For  it  is  plain,  that  if  con- 
science were  an  umpire,  immediate,  infallible,  and 
final,  man  would  need  no  other  rule,  and  would  be 
a  law  unto  himself  Experience  shows  that  while 
conscience,  like  understanding,  is  universal,  yet  like 
understanding,  it  may  act  in  ever  varying  degrees, 
and  be  stimulated  to  ever  improving  power.  Ex- 
perience shows  that  conscience  may  be  educated, 
and  that  it  may  be  perverted.  Men  differ  exceed- 
ingly from  one  another  in  their  views  of  duty.  You 
shall  find  one  man  who  sees  clearly  what  is  required 
of  him.  The  line  of  his  duty  is  obscured  by  no 
mists,  but  lies  distinctly  before  him,  as  a  path  laid 
down  with  mathematical  precision.  He  never 
wavers  on  the  brink  of  an  obligation.  His  principles 
of  action  are  defined  and  unalterable,  and  as  he  ad 
vances  in  life,  the  lesser  ramifications  of  duty  are 
marked  out  with  correspondent  precision.  You  shall 
find  another  man  who  is  perpetually  staggering 
among  the  different  roads  which  invite  him.  His 
principles  are  unfixed  and  conflicting.     He  judges 


HUMAN   CENSURE.  327 

that  to  be  right  to-day  which  he  condemned  yes- 
terday. In  a  thousand  cases,  therefore,  he  fails  to 
accomplish  the  highest  good,  by  vacillating  as  to 
what  is  required  of  him. 

It  is  very  evident,  that  a  person  thus  diseased 
and  debilitated  in  his  moral  character  cannot  be 
greatly  independent.  Such  a  man  needs  the  sup- 
port of  numerous  companions.  His  rule  of  duty  is 
very  much  made  up  of  the  opinions  of  those  around 
him.  Hence  he  diligently  gathers  such  opinions  and 
anxiously  craves  them.  As  the  judgment  of  fellow- 
creatures  is  in  good  measure  the  rule  of  his  conduct, 
he  trembles  at  the  censures  of  mortals.  Perhaps 
few  of  us  have  sufficiently  considered  how  directly 
this  servile  weakness  is  connected  with  dim  and 
confused  views  of  duty.  If  any  one  is  continually 
trembling  with  suspense  as  to  the  right  or  wrong 
of  actions,  he  will  in  the  same  degree  set  an  undue 
value  on  public  opinion,  which  may  often  cast  into 
the  balanced  scale  a  preponderating  weight.  Throw 
light  into  the  conscience  of  such  a  one ;  let  the 
bounding  demarcations  of  good  and  evil  become 
sharp  and  obvious  ;  let  him  see  without  a  misgiving 
which  way  duty  points  ;  and  thus  far  he  begins  to 
be  what  we  justly  denominate  a  man  of  principle. 
As  when  the  mariner,  after  many  days  of  cloud  and 
dead  reckoning,  at  length  obtains  a  clear  noontide 
observation,  ascertains  his  position,  and  is  ready  to 
dart  oft*  in  the  direction  of  his  course ;  so  the  per- 
plexed mind,  when  duty  is  made  apparent,  no  longer 
needs  to  be  in  concern  about  the  judgments  of  men,  v 


828  CONSOLATION. 

Mere  decision  of  character,  taken  in  a  worldly 
sense,  is  insufficient  to  produce  this  greatness  of 
character.  What  is  further  needed  is  a  clear  com- 
manding view  of  duty,  as  one  and  unalterable,  to 
be  the  polestar  in  the  heavens.  It  is  therefore  hard 
to  overrate  the  importance  of  cultivating  this  distinct 
and  unclouded  apprehension  of  right  and  wrong,  as 
a  permanent  mental  habit.  In  order  to  attain  this, 
we  must  be  often  thinking  of  moral  questions,  and 
settling  principles  before  the  hour  of  trial.  In  this 
likewise  men  widely  differ.  Happy  Is  the  youth 
who  begins  early  to  meditate  on  such  subjects,  and 
to  clear  his  notions,  as  to  what  he  ought  to  do  in 
given  emergencies.  He  will  find  the  bracing  influ- 
ence of  such  views,  in  moments  when  all  are  shaking 
around  him.  Looking  only  at  the  principles  of  eter- 
nal right,  he  will  go  serenely  forward,  even  in  the 
face  of  adverse  popular  opinion.  While  weaker 
minds  are  halting,  to  collect  the  votes  of  the  masses, 
he  will  bare  his  bosom  to  the  shower  of  darts,  and 
march  up  to  the  requisitions  of  conscience,  in  spite 
of  the  instant  tyrant,  or,  what  is  often  more  formi- 
dable, of  the'  turbulent  populace. 

To  acquire  settled  and  available  decisions  re- 
specting duty,  a  man  must  determine  every  question 
as  in  the  sight  of  God.  Help  is  here  afforded  in 
the  book  of  revelation.  "  The  commandment  of  the 
Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes."  So  far  as 
Scripture  is  law,  it  is  given  for  the  purpose  of  in 
forming,  directing,  and  strengthening  the  conscience 
/  The  study  of  God's  word,  for  the  purpose  of  discov 


HUMAN   CENSUKE.  329 

ering  God's  will,  is  tlie  secret  discipline  wliicli  liaa 
formed  tlie  greatest  characters — tlie  Daniels,  Pauls, 
Lutliers,  and  Howards,  of  tlie  cliurcli.  Listening 
here,  rather  than  to  the  shifting  voice  of  human 
opinion,  we  shall  gain  a  robust  principle  altogether 
unknown  to  the  world.  But  this  clear  discernment 
of  duty  will  not  fall  to  the  share  of  him,  who  re- 
mains undetermined  whether  to  practise  that  which 
he  discerns.  Wherefore  another  means  of  acquiring 
Christian  independence  is  now  to  be  mentioned. 

2.  The  second  means  of  rising  above  undue  re- 
gard for  human  judgments,  is  a  determinate  purpose 
to  perform  all  known  duty.  This  is  just  as  much 
more  valuable  than  the  preceding,  as  practice  is 
above  speculation.  An  habitual  disposition  of  the 
Will  to  keep  all  God's  holy  commandments,  will 
effectually  carry  a  man  above  any  sickly  anxieties 
respecting  the  opinion  which  fellow-creatures  may 
form  of  his  actions.  It  is  one  thing  to  know  what 
is  required  ;  and  we  have  seen  the  knowledge  to  be 
vastly  important ;  but  it  is  a  very  different  thing, 
to  comply.  Indeed  it  is  a  fruit  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  new  creature.  There  is  no  more  sure  mark 
of  discipleship  than  a  solemn  determination  to  fulfil 
all  that  is  demanded  by  our  righteous  Master.  "  Ye 
.'ire  my  friends,"  said  Christ,  "  if  ye  do  whatsoever 
1  command  you."  The  resolution  so  to  do  is  very 
strongly  expressed  by  David :  "  I  have  sworn,  and 
I  will  perform  it,  that  I  will  keep  thy  righteous 
judgments."  Wicked  men  sometimes  suppose  that 
they  are  ready  to  do  whatever  God  enjoins ;  but  a 


330  CONSOLATION. 

careful  examination  of  their  lives  and  heaits  will 
show  that  they  daily  and  willingly  break  the  law, 
in  thought,  word,  and  deed.  As  there  is  no  sinless 
perfection  in  this  life,  even  renewed  persons  have 
an  inward  conflict,  which  is  one  of  their  chief  trials. 
They  find  a  law  in  their  members  warring  against 
the  law  of  their  mind.  Still  they  would  do  good, 
even  when  evil  is  present  with  them.  Each  can 
say,  "  So  then  with  the  mind  I  serve  the  law  of 
God,  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin."  It  is  this 
mind,  or  settled  purpose  to  live  in  holy  obedience, 
which  we  are  now  considering.  Different  Christians, 
and  the  same  Christian  at  different  times,  are  sub- 
ject to  marked  variations,  as  to  the  intensity  of  this 
determination  to  do  what  is  right ;  but  wherever  it 
prevails,  it  begets  the  holy  independence  which  we 
are  seeking. 

This  will  become  more  clear  if  we  look  for  a 
moment  at  the  contrary  temper.  Here  is  a  man  of 
what  may  be  considered  general  good  intentions  ;  a 
professor  of  piety,  if  you  will,  but  one  who  halts  and 
wavers  in  his  obedience.  His  mind  is  not  made  up 
to  surrender  himself  unreservedly  to  God.  He  is 
not  quite  sure  that  if  the  will  of  God  were  clearly 
revealed  he  would  have  the  heart  to  perform  it. 
There  are  some  questions  of  practice  which  he  wil- 
lingly leaves  in  the  dark,  afraid  to  examine  too 
deeply  what  is  duty  in  the  case,  lest  upon  trial  he 
should  be  revealed  to  himself  as  purposing  to  abide 
in  known  sin.  Now,  what  we  aflirm  is,  that  a  man 
thus  situated  is  in  the  right  mood  to  become  tho 


HUMAN   CENSURE.  331 

slave  of  other  men's  opinions.  He  looks  around  for 
company  and  countenance  in  his  irregularities  and 
shortcomings.  He  catches  at  excuses  for  this  or 
that  indulgence,  derived  from  the  sentiments  of 
those  who  know  him.  If  some  great  and  holy  act  of 
high  decision  is  proposed,  as,  for  instance,  to  deny 
some  appetite ;  to  become  reconciled  with  an  offend- 
ing brother ;  to  yield  up  some  sacrifice  to  Christ ;  to 
bestow  munificently  upon  the  Lord's  cause  ;  to 
throw  himself  into  some  gospel  labour ;  he  has  no 
freedom  or  boldness  to  go  forward.  His  feet  are 
bound ;  his  hand  is  palsied.  Every  whisper  of 
worldly  professors  which  can  excuse  his  delay  is 
welcome  to  him ;  for  he  lacks  that  high  resolve 
which  would  bear  him  triumphantly  over  all  the 
surges  of  adverse  opinion. 

What  a  glow  of  healthful  strength  and  liberty, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  felt  by  one  who  has  made  it 
the  law  of  his  life  to  do  what  God  ordains  at  all 
hazards !  His  course  is  clear.  What  matters  it  to 
him  whether  man  approves  or  disapproves  ?  That 
which  he  seeks  is  not  human  approval,  but  the  keep- 
ing of  the  commandments  of  God.  When  he  has 
once  discovered  what  his  Master  has  required  of 
him,  all  dubiety  is  ended.  He  will  advance  to  the 
performance,  though  all  the  world  should  rebuke. 

Cases  occur  in  which  one  actually  performs  a 
duty,  but  at  the  expense  of  great  inward  pain  and 
mortification,  from  the  opposing  judgments  of  friends. 
Now,  such  pain  is  relieved  by  the  abiding  conscious- 
ness of  right.    The  voice  of  an  approving  conscience, 


332  CONSOLATION. 

uttered  loudly  in  the  bosom,  overpowers  and  drowna 
all  voices  of  rash  censure.  The  reason,  or  one  great 
reason,  why  we  sometimes  feel  distress,  even  in  the 
performance  of  right  actions,  is,  that  our  purpose  to 
risk  all  for  the  sake  of  what  is  right  has  not  risen  to 
the  proper  degree. 

This  was  felt  by  the  apostle  Paul  at  the  time  of 
his  conversion.  He  might  have  said:  "How  is  it 
possible  for  me  to  break  forth  at  once  as  a  preacher 
of  Christianity?  It  is  to  incur  the  hatred  or  the 
scorn  of  all  my  nation,  and  the  indignant  censure  of 
all  my  friends.  Universal  judgment  is  against  me 
To  act  thus  is  to  incur  the  shame  of  a  sudden  unac- 
countable tergiversation.  I  shall  become  a  proverb 
and  a  name  of  reproach  to  all  the  scoffers  in  Israel." 
But  how  did  he  act  ?  Hear  his  own  words :  "  When 
it  pleased  God  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  .... 
immediately  I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood." 
Gal.  1 :  15.  His  purpose  was  immovable,  to  do  what 
was  right,  come  what  would.  This  was  in  favour- 
able contrast  with  the  dissimulation  of  Peter  at  An- 
tioch  (2  :  11),  who  ceased  to  eat  with  the  Gentiles, 
when  "  certain  came  from  James  ;"  and  "  separated 
himself,  fearing  them  that  were  of  the  circumcision, 
insomuch  that  Barnabas  also  was  carried  away  with 
their  dissimulation."  Let  me  say  to  my  readers, 
if  you  would  learn  to  consider  the  judgment  of 
mortals  a  small  thing,  grow  in  your  resolution  to  do 
all  that  God  commands.  Prefer  it  to  honour ;  prefer 
it  to  pleasure ;  prefer  it  to  life.  It  will  be  to  you  a 
perpetual  commendation  from  the  inward  monitor ; 


HUMAN   CENSURE.  333 

and  the  sweet  testimony  of  a  good  conscience  to- 
ward God  and  man  will  enable  you  to  smile  serene- 
ly, tliougli  all  tlie  world,  and  many  who  are  named 
Christians,  condemn  and  reproach  you. 

3.  A  principal  means  to  prevent  too  high  a  re- 
gard for  human  censure,  is  the  conviction  that  the 
judgments  of  men  are  insignificant.  This  is  the  pre- 
cise import  of  Paul's  words — "  It  is  a  very  small  thing 
that  I  should  be  judged  of  man's  judgment."  Here, 
my  brethren,  is  the  very  point.  This  is  the  persua- 
sion which  we  need  to  have  deeply  engraved  on  our 
minds.  The  reason  why  we  are  concerned  and 
shaken  by  man's  judgment,  is  because  we  consider 
it  a  great  thing,  when  in  reality  it  is  contemptibly 
small,  as  I  now  proceed  to  show. 

There  is,  perhaps,  not  one  of  our  known  actions 
which  is  not  brought  into  review  by  some  of  our 
fellow-creatures — a  self-constituted  inquest  for  this 
purpose.  The  more  elevated  the  person,  the  more 
public  his  sphere,  the  larger  will  be  the  number  of 
his  judges.  Thus,  when  any  great  man  is  named 
for  high  office,  how  are  his  secret  things  sought  out ; 
how  is  his  private  life  brought  into  review ;  how 
bitter,  malignant,  false,  and  foolish,  are  the  awards 
of  over-heated  partisans  on  one  side  and  the  other ! 
But  no  one  of  us  is  so  humble  as  to  escape.  The 
very  beggar  at  our  doors,  probably,  stands  in  awe 
of  some  tribunal  among  his  mendicant  acquain1> 
ances,  which  sits  in  judgment  on  his  acts. 

Now,  human  judgments  may  be  disregarded,  be- 
cause  they   are   passing  away.     Nothing  is   more 


334  CONSOLATION. 

transient.  They  last  but  a  moment.  They  are  a 
breeze,  which  lulls  or  changes  as  soon  as  it  is  observ- 
ed. Let  wisdom  teach  you  not  to  observe  it  at  all. 
"  All  flesh  is  grass,"  and  each  generation  of  man  is 
rapidly  passing  from  time  into  eternity.  But  long 
before  the  persons  depart,  their  judgments  have 
ceased  and  been-  forgotten.  "Why  should  we  be 
wounded  or  hindered  by  a  breath  that  fleets  away  ? 

Again,  human  judgments  are  inoperative.  They 
amount  to  nothing.  They  are  arrows  which  do  not 
reach  us,  except  so  far  as  we  put  ourselves  in  their 
way.  The  opinion  of  other  men,  of  all  men  together, 
upon  our  actions  and  character,  need  not  weigh  a 
feather  with  us,  except  so  far  as  they  coincide  with 
the  decree  of  reason  and  conscience.  They  do  not 
affect  our  happiness  ;  they  cannot  reach  the  inward 
man.  To  tremble  at  them,  or  to  shrink  from  duty 
on  account  of  them,  or  to  go  haltingly  and  timorously 
on  with  duty  from  morbid  regard  to  them,  is  to  flee 
from  a  shaking  leaf,  and  to  turn  pale  at  a  shadow. 

The  judgments  of  men  are,  furthermore,  in  a 
great  number  of  instances,  pronounced  with  small 
opportunity  for  arriving  at  the  truth.  All  are  not 
wise  who  assume  the  censor's  chair.  Foolish  and 
ignorant  persons  are  apt  to  be  most  forward  in  vent- 
ing their  hasty  conclusions,  and  these  utterances  go 
to  form  what  is  called  public  opinion.  Wretched  is 
the  man  who  waits  and  hearkens  for  this,  to  guide 
his  practice,  or  as  if  any  thing  depended  on  it. 
Man's  judgment  is  very  small,  when  we  look  at  the 
authority  possessed  by  those  who  claim  to  judge. 


HUMAN   CENSUEE.  335 

There  is  hardly  any  part  of  a  weak  and  yielding 
man's  character,  for  which  he  can  make  less  reason- 
able apology  than  his  deference  to  the  opinion  of 
men.  Their  words  concerning  him,  and  their  rash 
judgments  of  him,  are  prompted  in  many  instances 
by  prejudice  and  malignant  affections.  They  ofter 
utter  more  disapprobation  than  they  feel,  and  as 
often  disapprove  from  some  secret  spite  or  ignoble 
grudge.  If  we  are  to  be  pained,  harassed,  and  ob- 
structed in  our  course  by  the  voices  around  us,  we 
thereby  put  our  happiness  and  our  very  usefulness 
at  the  mercv  of  our  enemies  and  the  enemies  of 
truth. 

Human  judgments  are  of  small  moment,  because 
they  are  conflicting  among  themselves.  Ancient  fable 
might  teach  us  that  no  line  of  conduct  will  certainly 
please  every  one.  The  path  of  wisdom  is  to  be  re- 
gulated, therefore,  without  regard  to  the  pleasing  of 
men.  "  If  I  please  men,"  says  Paul,  "  I  should  not 
be  the  servant  of  Christ."  Act  as  you  will,  some  will 
be  displeased.  And  no  marvel ;  for  as  has  been  well 
said,  how  can  we  expect  to  please  men,  who  are  dis- 
pleased with  God,  and  not  seldom  displeased  with 
themselves  ?  The  purity  of  an  angel  would  not 
escape  the  tongues  of  those  who  denounced  John  the 
Baptist  as  a  demoniac,  and  the  Son  of  God  as  a  wine- 
bibber.  Surely  it  is  not  from  the  verdict  of  such  a 
world,  that  we  are  to  judge  of  our  own  actions. 
These  very  opinions  are  changeable  as  the  moon, 
and  they  will  condemn  and  acquit  the  same  conduct, 
almost  in  the  sanie  breath. 


S36  CONSOLATION. 

But,  above  all,  we  must  learn  to  undervalue 
man's  judgments,  wlien  we  consider  how  often  they 
are  erroneous,  false,  and  displeasing  to  God.  Human 
eyes  penetrate  but  a  little  way.  Man  judgeth  ac- 
cording to  the  outward  appearance.  We  have  only 
to  look  at  what  the  world  approves  and  disapproves, 
for  a  single  day,  to  see  that  it  is  fallible,  blind,  and 
presumptuous.  As  well  might  we  take  our  bearings 
from  clouds  or  meteors,  as  regulate  our  conduct  by 
the  opinions  of  men.  And  no  one  will  ever  attain 
to  any  true  greatness  of  character,  until  he  comes  to 
leave  this  absolutely  out  of  view,  in  shaping  his 
course  through  life.  From  earliest  youth,  all  persons 
should  be  trained  to  look  higher,  and  to  settle  ques- 
tions of  duty,  on  fixed  moral  principles,  without  re- 
course to  these  fallacious  tests.  Let  a  man  take  this 
lofty  view  of  duty,  which  becomes  a  Christian,  and 
he  will  no  longer  shudder  when  he  finds  his  best  ac- 
tions exposed  to  obloquy.  Those  who  are  God's 
enemies  will  be  his  enemies,  so  far  as  he  resembles 
God.  He  will  remember  the  blessing  pronounced 
on  those  of  whom  all  manner  of  evil  is  spoken  false- 
ly ;  and  the  woe  uttered  against  professors  of  whom 
all  men  speak  well. 

It  is  painful,  but  unavoidable,  to  add  that  the 
opinion  even  of  fellow-Christians  is  not  to  be  taken 
as  our  rule.  To  his  beloved  Corinthians,  Paul  savs, 
"  With  me  it  is  a  very  small  thing  that  I  should  be 
judged  of  you."  Good  men  may  pass  wrong  judg- 
ments.    From  ignorance  of  facts  and  circumstances, 


HUMAN   CENSUEE.  337 

from  inattention,  haste,  or  false  report,  from  moral  . 
obliquity,  from  bias,  from  interest,  from  passion,  from 
remaining  unsanctified  tempers,  even  believers  may 
judge  us  amiss.  Their  opinion  has  not  been  made 
our  rule.  Sometimes  we  may  be  called  upon  to 
perform  acts  which  even  our  beloved  Christian 
brethren  disapr^rove.  It  is  one  of  the  sorest  triab 
of  an  honest  and  affectionate  mind.  In  such  circam- 
stances  we  must  remember  the  saying  of  the  excellent 
Halyburton,  that  though  God  has  promised  to  guide 
his  inquiring  child  in  the  way  that  is  right,  he  hath 
nowhere  promised  to  make  this  way  seem  right  to 
friends  and  neighbours.  Yet  if  a  man's  ways  please 
the  Lord,  he  will  cause  even  his  enemies  to  be  at 
peace  with  him.  Viewed,  then,  in  every  light,  the 
judgments  of  men  concerning  our  conduct  do  not 
seem  worthy  of  being  taken  into  the  account.  And 
it  should  be  the  lesson  of  our  life,  to  grow  into  a 
holy  independence  of  every  judgment  which  has  not 
the  sanction  of  conscience  and  of  God. 

3.  The  last  and  principal  means  of  living  in 
disregard  of  man's  judgment,  is  to  keep  in  view 
the  awful  judgment  of  God.  That  this  was  be- 
fore the  apostle's  mind,  in  the  case  cited,  is  suffi- 
ciently manifest.  "  With  me,"  says  he,  "  it  is  a  very 
small  thing  that  I  should  be  judged  of  you,  as  of 
man's  judgment ;  yea,  I  judge  not  mine  own  self," 
i.  e,^  it  is  no  self  approbation  or  self-condemnation 
which  can  carry  authority  with  it.  "  For  I  kno-w 
nothing  by  (or  against)  myself;  yet  am  I  not 
nereby  justified  :  but  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the 
9.2 


333  CONSOLATION. 

Lord  *  This  is  the  controlling  consideration.  The 
opinions  of  poor,  frail,  erring,  dying  man,  whose 
breath  is  in  his  nostrils,  is  nothing,  is  less  than  no 
thing  and  vanity,  when  I  come  to  regard  the  great 
Omniscient  Judge  of  the  Universe.  The  honour 
which  cometh  from  men,  and  which  some  are  found 
willing  to  fight  for  and  die  for — what  is  it,  com- 
pared with  the  honour  that  cometh  from  God  only  ? 
Suppose  men  condemn  me,  and  cast  out  my  name 
as  evil,  yea,  suppose  all  men  unite  in  censure  and 
reprobation ;  what  is  this,  if  He  that  sitteth  in  the 
heavens  looks  down  with  approval  ?  This,  my 
brethren,  is  the  only  true  ground  to  take,  in  regard  to 
the  regulation  of  our  conduct,  to  do  all,  as  in  the  im- 
mediate presence  of  Grod  and  as  subject  to  his  ani- 
madversion. In  his  balances  all  our  acts  are  weighed. 
Each  word,  each  thought,  as  it  rises  into  existence, 
is  passed  upon  by  him  who  is  All- wise  and  All-holy. 
To  live  under  such  an  impression  elevates  and  puri- 
fies the  character.     How  serenely,  how  loftily  may 

*  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  in  two  places  in  our  admirable  ver- 
sion, common  readers  are  liable  to  miss  the  sense,  from  the  great 
variety  of  meanings  belonging  to  the  English  preposition  l)y.  The  first 
is  Acts  20 :  16,  "  For  Paul  had  determined  to  sail  ly  Ephesus."  That 
is,  as  the  Greek  instantly  shows,  he  would  not  make  his  voyage  xid. 
Ephesus,  but  would  pass  it  by.  The  other  is  the  passage  cited  above, 
1  Cor.  4:4,  "  For  I  know  nothing  lyy  myself,"  ovhlv  yap  e/xavTa  avvoida. 
That  is,  I  am  conscious  of  nothing  against  myself.  Here  the  mind  is 
misled  by  a  use  of  the  English  particle  which  has  long  fallen  out  ol 
the  language.  This  is  evident  from  collating  the  older  versions; 
"  For  I  am  no  thing  ouertrowing  to  ray  sUf." —  Wiclif.  "  For  I  &m 
not  guilty  in  conscience  of  any  thing." — Rheims.  "  Nihil  enim  mihi 
oonscius  sum." — Vulgate.  Therefore  correctly  given  by  Doddridge; 
**  I  am  not  conscious  to  myself  of  any  thing  criminal." 


HUMAN   CENSUEE.  339 

a  true  Christian  go  on  in  the  performance  of  some 
distasteful  or  unpopular  duty,  if  he  can  say  with  as- 
surance, "  I  know  that  the  eye  of  my  God  looks 
down  with  approbation  on  what  I  am  doing."  This 
sustained  Paul,  and  has  sustained  God^s  most  faith- 
ful servants  in  every  age ;  the  thought  and  assurance 
of  God  as  ever  sitting  in  judgment  upon  every  act. 

The  day  is  coming,  very  soon,  when  all  the 
judgments  of  men,  which  now  give  you  so  unwise  a 
concern,  shall  be  blotted  out,  as  clouds  of  the  morn- 
ing or  turbid  dreams  of  feverish  delirium;  and 
when  you  will  be  transfixed  by  contemplating  the 
righteous,  final,  incontrovertible  doom  of  the  All-see- 
ing and  Almighty  Jehovah.  In  those  moments  when 
you  feel  yourselves  in  danger  of  being  unduly  moved 
by  human  opinion,  let  your  attentive  thoughts  hurry 
forwards  to  the  time — behold  it  is  at  the  door — 
when  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  the  globe  shall  trem- 
ble in  the  mighty  hand  of  Him  that  made  it,  the 
graves  and  seas  shall  render  up  their  dead,  the  throne 
shall  be  set,  and  the  books  shall  be  opened ;  when 
the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  his  glory  and  all  the 
holy  angels  with  him,  and  shall  sit  upon  the  throne 
of  his  glory ;  when  all  nations  shall  be  gathered  be- 
fore him,  and  be  separated  on  his  right  hand  and 
his  left ;  and  when,  in  your  presence,  in  your  hear- 
ing, and  addressing  himself  to  you,  he  shall  utter 
one  of  these  solemn  sentences — Come,  ye  blessed  of 
my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world — or.  Depart  from 
jn9^  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the 


340  _  CONSOLATION. 

devil  and  his  angels.  At  that  awful  juncture,  which 
assuredly  awaits  you,  at  what  value,  think  ye,  will 
you  hold  the  decisions  of  fellow- worms  upon  your 
conduct  ?  With  what  degree  of  complacency  will 
you  look  back  upon  the  servile  compliances,  the 
shrinkings  from  duty,  the  doubtful  indulgences,  the 
worldly  conformities,  into  which  you  have  been 
tempted  by  regard  for  human  approbation  or  cen- 
sure ?  This,  this — believe  me — is  the  great  com- 
manding motive,  which  ought  to  keep  you  upright, 
amidst  the  conflicting  voices  of  popular  judgment. 
Let  your  souls  be  absorbed  by  the  just  judgment 
of  God.  Fear  God  more,  and  you  will  fear  man 
less.  And,  in  regard  to  others,  be  instructed  by  the 
words  of  the  apostle,  and  "judge  nothing  before 
the  time,  until  the  Lord  come,  who  both  will  bring 
to  light  the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and  will 
make  manifest  the  counsels  of  the  hearts  :  and  then 
shall  every  man  have  praise  of  God." 

And  O  ye,  who  have  been  the  slaves  of  human 
opinion,  and  have  done  all  your  works  to  be  seen 
of  men;  what  shall  it  profit  you  to  have  had  the 
acclamations  of  the  multitude,  if,  when  driven  away 
in  utter  nakedness  and  arraigned  before  the  tribunal 
from  which  there  is  no  appeal,  you  feel  the  eye 
of  God  piercing  you  to  the  heart,  and  the  frown  of 
God  withering  your  disconsolate  spirit !  All  things 
earthly  are  tending  towards  that  awful  consummation. 
All  our  days  are  preparing  materials  for  the  adju- 
dication of  "  that  day."  And  alas !  how  unprepared 
are  some  who  read  these  words,  for  that  appearance 


HUMAN   CENSUEE.  341 

before  God  I  Can  it  be  possible  that  we  remain 
unconcerned,  wlien  no  voice  has  yet  assured  us  whe- 
ther the  Judge  shall  place  us  on  the  right  hand  or 
the  left  ?  Yet  on  one  or  the  other,  must  you  and  I 
speedily  stand.  The  time  is  short.  The  days  are 
hastening.  The  sands  are  falling.  The  doom  is  im- 
pending. "  What  meanest  thou,  O  sleeper  ?  arise, 
call  upon  thy  God,  if  so  be  that  God  will  think 
upon  us,  that  we  perish  not."  And  I  am  bound,  be- 
fore I  close,  to  declare,  that  no  strength  of  bare 
human  resolution,  no  philosophical  dignity,  no  self- 
righteous  purpose,  will  avail  to  produce  this  inde- 
pendent elevation  of  character.  There  must  be  an 
operation  which  shall  reach  to  the  inward  sources 
of  action,  with  revolutionary  power.  Ye  must  be 
born  again.  Ye  must  be  at  peace  with  God.  What  is 
imperatively  demanded,  is  not  merely  new  views,  but 
a  new  nature.  In  which  I  find  a  mighty  argument 
with  which  I  may  urge  every  reader,  as  here  I  do,  to 
seek  true  vital  piety,  and  to  seek  it  without  delay. 
Then — when  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  take  your  heart 
into  his  moulding  hand — ^you  will  be  delivered  from 
the  mortifying  experience  of  mean  indecision,  truck- 
ling to  the  demands  of  the  world,  broken  resolutions, 
and  a  violated  conscience.  Christian  brethren,  let  it 
be  our  daily  prayer  that  we  may  cease  from  man, 
whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils,  and  look  to  God  as  the 
Judge  that  ever  standeth  at  the  door.  "  Therefore, 
my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  u/imovable,  al- 
ways abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as 
je  know  that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 


CONSOLATION  DEEIVED  FEOM  A  EEVIEW 
or  CHEISTIAN  MARTYRDOM. 


XV. 

THE  sufferings  of  Christ's  faithful  martyrs  not 
only  furnish  an  attestation  to  the  truth  of  Ciiris- 
tianity,  but  evince  its  power  to  support  the  soul 
under  the  greatest  sufferings.  And  herein  the  study 
is  one  eminently  piomotive  of  consolation. 

One  of  the  great  evils  which  have  been  wrought 
by  Popery  is  that  it  has  cast  suspicion  and  rebuke 
on  many  good  things  which  belong  as  much  to  us 
as  to  them,  but  which  we  can  scarcely  use  with  lib- 
erty for  fesr  of  superstition.  Tliis  has  remarkably 
been  the  case  in  regard  to  the  sufferings  of  the 
saints.  At  a  very  early  age,  unsuspecting  the  evil 
which  should  follow,  surviving  friends  began  to 
honour  the  remains  and  frequent  the  tombs  of  the 
martyrs ;  hence  followed,  in  irresistible  progress,  the 
consecration  of  set  days,  the  doctrine  of  supereroga- 
tory merit,  the  canonization  of  saints,  and  the  worship 
of  relics.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  we,  my  brethren, 
have  an  interest  in  the  heroic  work  of  the  martyrs : 
they  are  ours  as  well  as  Rome's ;  and  we  are  not  to 
be  cheated  out  of  our  right  to  the  example,  proof^ 
and  incitement  afforded  by  them,  because  a  corrupt 
church   has  made   their  names  the  watchword  of 


346  CONSOLATION. 

error.  This  has  been  beautifully  expressed  by  one 
of  the  brightest  luminaries  of  the  modern  Anglican 
church,  who  sufficiently  proved  himself  the  foe  of 
Popery  and  its  imitations.  "  It  is  likely  enough," 
says  the  late  Dr.  Arnold,  "  that  Gibbon  has  truly 
accused  the  general  statements  of  exaggeration.  But 
this  is  a  thankless  labour,  such  as  Lingard  and 
others  have  undertaken  with  respect  to  the  St.  Bar- 
tholomew massacre,  and  the  Irish  massacre  of  1642. 
Divide  the  sum  total  of  reputed  martyrs  by  twenty 
— ^by  fifty,  if  you  will — but,  after  all,  you  have  a  num- 
ber of  persons,  of  all  ages  and  sexes,  suffering  cruel 
torments,  and  a  death  for  conscience'  sake  and  for 
Christ's,  and  by  their  sufferings  manifestly,  with 
God's  blessing,  insuring  the  triumph  of  Christ's  gos- 
pel. Neither,  do  I  think,  do  we  consider  the  exist- 
ence of  this  martyr-spirit  half  enough.  I  do  not 
think  that  pleasure  is  a  sin.  The  Stoics  of  old,  and 
the  ascetic  Christians  since,  who  have  said  so,  have 
in  saying  so  overstepped  the  simplicity  and  the  wis- 
dom of  Christian  truth.  But  though  pleasure  is  not 
a  sin,  yet  surely  the  contemplation  of  suffering  for 
Christ's  sake  is  a  thing  most  needful  for  us  in  our 
days,  from  whom  in  our  daily  life  suffering  seems  so 
far  removed.  And  as  God's  grace  enabled  rich  and 
delicate  persons,  women,  and  even  children,  to  en- 
dure all  extremities  of  pain  and  reproach  in  times 
past,  so  ♦^^here  is  the  same  grace  no  less  mighty  now ; 
and  if  we  do  not  close  ourselves  against  it,  it  might 
in  us  be  no  less  glorified  in  a  time  of  trial.  And 
that  such  time  of  trial  will  come,  my  children,  in 


THE  MARTTES.  34T: 

your  days,  if  not  in  mine,  I  do  believe  fully,  both 
from  tlie  teaching  of  man's  wisdom  and  of  God's." 

"When  our  Lord,  in  predicting  the  arrest  and 
trial  of  his  disciples,  says  to  them,  "  And  it  shall 
turn  to  you  for  a  testimony;"  the  meaning  is,  your 
persecutions,  when  foes  shall  lay  their  hands  on 
you,  this  shall  turn  to  you  for  a  testimony :  it  shall 
afford  you  an  opportunity  to  testify  for  Christ  in 
the  most  striking  circumstances,  and  with  the  great- 
est effect.  The  word  rendered  "  testimony  "  is  kin- 
dred to  our  word  martyr^  which  is  only  the  Greek 
for  witness^  one  who  bears  testimony.  Ye  shall,  by 
means  of  your  faith  and  endurance,  be  witnesses  for 
my  gospel.  Let  me,  then,  call  your  attention  to  the 
lessons  to  be  drawn  from  the  testimony  of  the  mar- 
tyrs. But  first,  we  must  consider  who  and  what  the 
martyrs  were. 

L  A  martyr^  it  has  already  been  said,  is  a  wit- 
ness ;  but,  in  the  language  of  the  church,  one  who 
bears  witness  to  Christianity  by  his  death;  while 
the  term  confessor  was  applied  to  those  who,  before 
persecuting  magistrates,  firmly  hazarded  punishment 
for  confessing  Christ.  The  confessor  became  a  mar- 
tyr by  shedding  his  blood.  In  this  sense  we  con- 
stantly speak  of  "martyrs  and  confessors."  The 
ancient  historians  reckon  exactly  ten  persecutions ; 
but  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  confine  the  number  to 
this.  They  arose  from  the  iron  determination  of 
the  heathen  powers  to  suppress  the  true  religion ; 
for  I  pass  over  the  earlier  persecutions  under  the 
Jews,  from  Stephen  onward.    I  desire  to  afford  some 


348  CONSOLATION. 

glimpses  of  the  scenes  of  martyrdom,  confining  my- 
self to  ancient  authorities,  and  uncontradicted  narra- 
tives.    The   name  of  Nero   has  a  black  celebrity. 
"  Examine  yom*  records,"  said  TertuUian,  in  his  Apo- 
logy ;  ''  there  you  will  find  that  Nero  was  the  first  that 
persecuted  this  [Christian]  doctrine    ....    He 
that  knows  who  he  was,  may  also  know,  that  Nero 
could  condemn  only  what  was  great  and  good."     It 
*  ifl  believed  that  Paul  was  a  martyr  under  Nero.     I 
will  not  enter  into  the  question  as  to  the  number  of 
the  martyrs.     Though  superstition  has  exaggerated 
in  this  point,  we  cannot  deny  the  concurrent  testi- 
mony of  all  ancient  records,   that   thousands   on 
thousands  were  slain  for  Christ's  sake.     Those  who 
were  lowest,  such  as  paupers  and  slaves,  escaped  most 
easily ;  the  ministers,  the  learned,  and  men  of  wealth, 
were  sure  to  be  summoned  to  this  ordeal.     The  per- 
secution, which  was  closed  by  the  death  of  Nero, 
broke  out  afresh  under  his  imitator,  Domitian.    Their 
names   have  come   down  to   posterity  besprinkled 
with  the  same  blood.     "  Nero,"  says  TertuUian,  "was 
content  to  have  executions,  ordered  at  a  distance; 
Domitian  chose  to  have  them  under  his  own  eyes." 
The  mild  and  gentle  Trajan  was  a  persecutor.     Hap- 
pily there  remains  to  us  a  portion  of  his  correspond- 
ence with  Pliny  the  Younger,  who  was,  under  him, 
governor  of  Bithynia.     This  gives  us  the  assurance 
derived  from   Gentile  testimony.     Pliny  writes  to 
his  sovereign  to  know  what  is  to  be  done,  when  so 
many  thousand  Christians  are  willing  to  go  to  the 
stake.     Hear  the  account  given  by  thia  heathen  ma- 


THE   MARTYRS,  340 

gistrate ;  it  forms  part  of  a  state  paper,  or  official 
report :  "  I  have  taken  tliis  course  witli  those  who 
are  brought  before  me.  I  asked  them  if  they  were 
Christians ;  if  they  confessed,  I  asked  them,  again, 
threatening  punishment ;  if  they  persisted,  I  com- 
manded them  to  be  executed.  The  case  demands 
your  orders,  from  the  vast  numbers  who  are  in  dan- 
ger ;  for  many  of  all  ranks  and  ages,  both  men  and 
women,  will  be  arrested,  as  the  pestilence  of  this  su- 
perstition has  overspread,  not  only  cities,  but  towns 
and  country  villages." 

During  this  reign  suffered  Clement  of  Rome, 
Simon  of  Jerusalem,  and  Ignatius  of  Antioch.  The 
last  is  memorable.  He  was  condemned  by  Trajan 
himself,  who  ordered  him  to  be  sent  from  Asia  to 
Rome,  and  there  to  be  thrown  to  wild  beasts.  But 
his  journey  was  a  missionary  tour,  in  which  he  pro- 
bably did  more  than  in  all  his  life  toward  the 
strengthening  of  the  brethren.  "  From  Syria  even 
to  Rome,"  says  he,  "  I  fight  with  beasts,  by 
land  and  sea,  day  and  night;  bound  with  ten  leo- 
patds  (that  Ls,  a  guard  of  soldiers,)  who  are  worse 
for  the  favours  I  do  them.  I  pray  that  the  beasts 
may  despatch  me  quickly ;  but  I  know  what  is  best 
for  me.  Now  I  begin  to  be  a  disciple,  desiring 
nothing  of  things  seen  or  unseen,  that  so  I  may  gain 
Christ.  Let  fire,  cross,  droves  of  ravenous  beasts, 
wounds  and  convulsions  come  upon  me,  so  only  that 
I  may  enjoy  Jesus  Christ." 

Under  Adrian,  the  successor  of  Trajan,  an  inci- 
dent occurred  in  proconsular  Asia  which  is  instruo* 


350  CONSOLATION. 

tive.  Tertullian  relates,  that  when  Arrius  Antoni- 
nus was  beginning  to  persecute  in  a  certain  city, 
the  whole  of  the  population  beset  his  tribunal, 
and  openly  avowed  themselves  to  be  Christians. 
He  could  only  order  a  few  to  be  executed  as  ex- 
amples. 

As,  however,  a  far  more  distinct  impression  is 
made  on  cmr  minds  by  a  few  particular  incidents, 
than  by  general  enumerations,  I  will  dwell  a  little 
on  the  famous  instance  of  the  churches  of  Vienne  and 
Lyons  on  the  Rhone,  in  the  second  century.  This 
persecution  raged  under  the  philosophic  emperor 
M.  Aurelius  Antoninus,  and  we  are  better  acquainted 
with  the  details,  because  the  historian  Eusebius  has 
preserved  letters  written  on  the  subject,  by  these 
churches,  to  their  brethren  in  Asia  Minor.*  There 
is  something  very  affecting  in  the  letters  of  these 
simple-hearted  people,  penned  amidst  the  very  hor- 
rors of  which  they  tell.  The  populace  had  been  in- 
flamed by  the  calumnies  of  the  age  which  accused  the 
Christian  assemblies  of  licentious  and  bloody  crimes. 
"  The  Christians,"  say  the  letters,  "  nobly  sustained  all 
the  evils  that  were  heaped  upon  them  by  the  mob — 
outcries,  blows,  plunder,  stoning,  imprisonment. 
Then  they  were  hurried  to  the  Forum,  and  when 
examined  by  the  tribune  and  magistrates,  in  pre- 
sence of  the  multitude,  they  were  shut  up  in  prison 
till  the  arrival  of  the  governor."  "  They  seemed  un- 
prepared indeed  and  inexperienced,  and  too  weak 
for  the  mighty  conflict.     About  ten  fell  away,  cans- 

*  Euse¥.  V.  i.  M. 


THE   MARTYRS.      '  351 

ing  excessive  son*ow  to  the  brethren.  We  were 
filled  with  suspense  and  anguish  lest  the  remainder 
should  apostatize."  There  were  arrests  every  day, 
till  all  the  more  zealous  members  of  the  two  churches 
were  collected.  Particular  mention  is  made  of  a 
poor  servant-woman  named  Blandina.  "  For  whilst 
we  were  all  trembling,  and  her  earthly  mistress,  who 
was  herself  one  of  th«.  contending  martyrs,  was  ap- 
prehensive lest  by  the  weakness  of  the  flesh  she 
should  not  make  a  bold  profession,  Blandina  was 
filled  with  such  power,  that  her  ingenious  tormentors, 
who  relieved  and  succeeded  one  another  from  morn- 
ing till  night,  confessed  that  they  were  overcome, 
and  had  nothing  more  that  they  could  inflict  on  her." 
"  Wrestling  nobly  in  the  fight,  this  blessed  saint, 
from  time  to  time,  found  strength  to  say,  '  I  am  a 
Christian !     No  wickedness  is  carried  on  by  us.' " 

From  Sanctus,  another  martyr,  no  extent  of 
torture  could  extort  any  declaration  but  this, 
"  Chrieticmus  siim  !  I  am  a  Christian !"  Pothinus, 
a  venerable  minister,  more  than  ninety  years  of  age, 
and  very  infirm,  seemed  to  live  only  that  Christ 
might  triumph  in  him.  After  being  delivered  over 
to  the  blows  and  indignities  of  the  mob,  he  lay  two 
days  in  prison,  and  then  died  of  the  injuries.  On 
the  last  day  of  the  gladiatorial  games,  Blandina,  al- 
ready named,  and  Ponticus  (a  Christian  boy  aged 
fifteen)  were  brought  in,  as  they  were  every  day, 
to  see  the  torments  of  the  rest.  "  Force  was  used 
to  make  them  swear  by  their  idols,  and  when  they 
continued  firm,  and  denied  the  grods,  the  mob  be* 


8'52  CONSOLATION. 

came  outrageous,  pitying  neither  the  sex  of  one  nor 
the  youth  of  the  other.  Hence  they  subjected  them 
to  every  horrible  suffering,  and  led  them  through  the 
whole  round  of  torture,  ever  and  anon  striving  to 
make  them  swear,  but  in  vain.  The  boy  (as  the 
heathens  could  see)  was  encouraged  and  upheld  by 
the  words  of  a  Christian  sister ;  he  nobly  bore  the 
whole  sufferings,  and  gave  up  his  life."  I  forbear 
describing  the  death  of  Blandina  by  a  wild  beast, 
though  it  is  detailed.  "  Even  the  Gentiles  confessed 
that  no  woman  among  them  had  ever  endured  suf- 
feAigs  as  many  and  as  great  as  these."  Allow  me 
to  remind  you,  my  brethren,  that  the  essential  thing 
in  all  these  persecutions  is,  that  these  martyrs  died 
testifying ;  it  turned  to  them  for  a  testimony. 

Instead  of  pursuing  the  account  of  persecutions 
under  successive  emperors,  let  me  add  two  testi- 
monies of  ancient  writers ;  you  will  not  fail  to  give 
them  that  weight  which  belongs  to  declarations  re- 
corded at  the  time.  The  first  is  by  Sulpicius  Seve- 
rus,  an  elegant  writer  of  the  fourth  century :  "  Un- 
der the  reign  of  Diocletian  and  Maximian,  for  ten 
years  the  persecution  constantly  preyed  on  the 
Lord's  people,  during  which  the  whole  world  was 
full  of  the  sacred  blood  of  martyrs.  Never  was  the 
world  more  exhausted  by  wars,  and  never  did  we 
conquer  by  a  greater  triumph,  than  when  with  ten 
years'  suffering  we  could  not  be  overcome." 

The  other  is  Tertullian.  "Good  governors,^ 
said  he,  "  you  may  torment,  afflict,  and  vex  us ;  youi 
wickednee«  trieis  our  innocency,  and  therefore  God 


THE  IHARTYRS.  358 

lets  US  suffer  it ;  but  all  your  cruelty  is  to  no  pur- 
pose ;  it  is  but  a  stronger  invitation  to  bring  others 
to  our  sect.  The  oftener  we  are  mowed  down,  the 
ranker  do  we  spring  up  again.  The  hlood  of  the 
Christians  is  the  seed  of  the  chwrch.  Many  of  your 
philosophers  have  exhorted  their  hearers  to  patience 
under  suffering  and  death ;  as  Cicero  in  his  Tusculans, 
Seneca,  Diogenes,  Pyrrho,  and  Callinicus  ;  but  they 
could  never  make  so  many  disciples,  by  all  their  fine 
discourses,  as  the  Christians  have  by  acts.  That 
very  obstinacy  you  charge  upon  us  serves  to  instruct 
others.  For  who,  beholding  such  things,  will  not 
be  moved  to  inquire  what  is  the  truth  from  which 
they  proceeded?  and  when  he  has  found  it,  will 
he  not  embrace  it  ?  and  having  embraced  it,  will  he 
not  desire  to  suffer  for  it  ?  Therefore  we  give  thanks 
for  your  sentence,  knowing  that  the  judgments  of 
men  do  not  agree  with  those  of  God  ;  for  when  we 
are  condemned  by  you,  we  are  absolved  by  Him." 

Without  intending  to  enlarge  on  their  history,  I 
may  add,  that  the  principle  is  equally  illustrated  in 
the  case  of  all  those  witnesses  for  the  truth,  in  later 
ages,  who  have  suffered  under  a  wicked  hierarchy, 
even  down  to  the  poor  expatriated  Portuguese,  from 
the  island  of  Madeira.  Thus  the  Waldenses.  They 
were  just  as  really  persecuted  by  the  popes  as  ever 
their  fathers  were  by  the  emperors.  Between  11T6 
and  1226,  there  was  such  havoc  of  them,  that  even 
the  Archbishops  of  Aix,  Aries,  and  Narbonne,  con- 
sulting with  the  inquisitors,  expressed  some  pity  at 
the  multitudes  who  were  cast  into  prison.  In  the 
23 


354  CONSOLATION. 

year  12 GO,  the  number  of  Waldenses  was  reckoned 
at  eight  hundred  thousand.  The  Albigenses  were 
so  numerous  that  they  were  made  the  object  of  a 
crusade.  To  recount  the  martyrdoms  of  Protestant- 
ism would  be  to  recite  the  folios  of  the  pious  and 
laborious  Foxe.  The  name  of  Smithfield  can  never 
be  forgotten  by  descendants  of  Great  Britain.  In 
these,  as  in  the  ancient  times,  the  arrest  and  perse- 
cution of  God's  people  turned  to  them  for  a  testi- 
mony ;  affording  only  so  many  new  opportunities  of 
publicly  avowing  the  truth  of  Christianity.  The 
general  result  is  sufficiently  clear,  that  in  every  age 
Christians  have  been  found  ready  to  hazard  the 
greatest  sufferings  rather  than  deny  Christ,  and  have 
gone  out  of  the  world  in  torments  of  body,  but  tri- 
umph of  soul,  declaring  their  belief  of  the  gospel. 

11.  (1.)  Among  the  invaluable  lessons  to  be  de- 
duced from  the  sufferings  of  Christian  martyrs,  the 
first  is  this  :  They  fiimiah  attestation  to  the  t/ruth  of 
Christianity.  They  thus  turned  to  those  who  suffered 
for  a  testimony.  The  great  foundation  of  the  credi- 
bility of  divine  messengers  is  the  miracles  which 
were  wrought  to  certify  their  legation.  The 
Apostles  and  many  of  the  primitive  Christians 
attested  the  truth  by  martyrdom.  This  is  a  fact 
as  undeniable  as  any  in  history.  Do  I  hear  you  ob- 
ject, that  martyrdom  may  be  suffered  for  falsehood 
as  well  as  truth  ;  our  reply  is,  that  the  objection  does 
not  meet  the  point  of  the  reasoning.  Our  argument 
is  not  that  the  martyrdom  directly  proves  the  doc- 
trine to  be  true,  but  that  it  proves  the  sincerity  of 


THE  MARTYRS.  355 

him  who  testifies.  In  regard  to  the  miracles  of 
Christianity,  prove  the  sincerity,  and  you  prove 
the  facts.  These  facts,  it  admits  of  easy  proof,  are 
of  such  a  nature,  that  the  reporters  could  not  be  de- 
ceived. The  primitive  martyrs  had  the  opportunity 
of  arriving  at  absolute  truth,  .with  regard  to  the  facts 
alleged  ;  and  their  dying  for  the  truth  is  in  the  cir- 
cumstances as  strong  proof  of  the  miracles  as  the 
case  admits.  Never  forget  that  they  could  one  and 
all  have  escaped  all  their  torments,  by  denying  these 
facts,  or  by  the  simplest  renunciation  of  Christianity. 
Here  I  will  quote  another  passage  from  Pliny,  in  re- 
gard to  those  who  were  apprehended  under  the 
charge  of  being  Christians:  "A  paper  was  pre- 
sented, accusing  certain  persons  therein  named  of 
being  Christians.  These,  when,  after  my  example, 
they  invoked  the  gods,  and  offered  wine  and  incense 
to  your  statue,  which  for  that  purpose  I  caused  to 
be  brought,  and  when,  moreover,  they  had  blas- 
phemed the  name  of  Christ  (which,  it  is  said,  none 
who  are  true  Christians  will  ever  do),  I  dismissed." 
All  the  tortures  of  the  heathen  were  intended  to  bring 
them  to  this  denial.  A  single  word,  a  single  morsel 
of  incense,  an  inclination  of  the  head,  would  have 
saved  their  lives.  But,  no !  they  died  under  excru- 
ciating pains,  rather  than  renounce.  No  man,  wo- 
man, or  child  suffered  for  Christianity  under  any 
other  compulsion  than  that  of  conscience.  "  Every 
martyr  made  a  voluntary  sacrifice  of  himself  to  main- 
tain the  truth,  and  to  preserve  a  good  conscience." 
Christianity  was  not  then  a  religion  of  imposture 


356  CONSOLATION. 

These  men  were  sincere.  No  rational  mind  can  doubt 
it.  Multitudes  of  persons  gave  tlie  strongest  possible 
testimony  to  tbeir  belief  of  certain  facts,  wbich 
passed  under  their  own  observation,  and  in  which 
they  could  not  have  been  deceived.  The  case  of 
later  martyrs,  though  not  so  cogent,  as  to  the  proof 
of  the  original  facts,  is  equally  so,  as  to  their  own 
sincerity  of  belief.  These  sufferers  were  true  be- 
lievers. The  system  under  which  they  suffered  was 
one  that  commanded  the  mind's  conviction.  And 
the  strength  of  this  conviction  is  measured  by  the 
intensity  of  the  sufferings  endured,  and  the  terror  of 
the  evils  threatened.  What,  therefore,  must  we  say 
of  the  sincerity  which  resists  the  greatest  of  mortal 
apprehensions,  namely,  that  of  death !  An  instance 
may  possibly  be  found  here  and  there  of  some  fana- 
tical or  obstinate  villain,  who  from  insane  pride  may 
die  for  what  he  believes  untrue  ;  but  here  are  mul- 
titudes of  all  conditions,  and  in  various  ages.  If,  in 
deed,  this  does  not  prove  sincerity  of  belief,  it  would 
be  vain  to  look  for  any  such  proof. 

(2.)  The  history  of  the  martyrs  is  a  testimony 
to  the  power  of  Christianity  to  swp'port  the  soul 
wfider  great  sufferings^  and  this  is  the  main  point 
in  our  present  discussion.  "  Persons  of  all  ages,  of 
all  conditions  in  life,  and  of  both  sexes,  exhibited 
under  protracted  and  cruel  torments,  a  fortitude,  a 
patience,  a  meekness,  a  spirit  of  charity  and  forgive- 
ness, a  cheerfulness,  yea,  often  a  triumphant  joy,  of 
which  there  are  no  examples  to  be  found  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world.     They  rejoiced  when  they  were 


THE  MARTYES.  35? 

arrested  ;  cheerfully  bade  adieu  to  their  nearest  and 
dearest  relations ;  gladly  embraced  the  stake ;  wel- 
comed the  wild  beasts  let  loose  to  devour  them; 
smiled  on  the  horrible  apparatus  by  which  their 
sinews  were  to  be  stretched,  and  their  bones  dislo- 
cated and  broken ;  uttered  no  complaints ;  gave  no 
indication  of  pain,  when  their  bodies  were  enveloped 
in  flames ;  and  when  condemned  to  die,  begged  of 
their  friends  to  interpose  no  obstacle  to  their  felicity 
(for  such  they  esteemed  martyrdom),  not  even  by 
prayers  for  their  deliverance."  What  sustained 
these  sufferers  ?  It  was  their  belief  in  Christianity. 
They  never  pretended  that  it  was  aught  beside.  If 
any  thing  may  be  regarded  as  established,  even 
by  the  concessions  of  adversaries,  it  is  that  the  Chris- 
tian system  imparted  to  the  humblest  and  weakest 
a  fortitude  and  a  constancy  which  were  unknown  to 
the  schools  of  philosophy.  This  was,  indeed,  the 
chief  mortification  of  the  persecutors.  Exhausting 
their  whole  resources  in  vain  against  aged  men, 
feeble  women,  and  inexperienced  children,  they  were 
at  length  driven  to  wilder  means,  as  discovering  that 
Christianity  could  not  be  quenched  in  blood.  These 
aspects  of  martyrdom,  my  brethren,  ought  by  n© 
means  to  be  neglected.  That  thousands  should  have 
died  so  supported  is  not  an  uninteresting  fact  in  the 
world's  history.  "  Neither,"  says  the  noble  Arnold, 
"  should  we  forget  those  who,  by  their  sufferings, 
were  more  than  conquerors,  not  for  themselves 
only,  but  for  us,  in  securing  to  us  the  safe  and  tri- 
umphant  existence   of    Christ's   blessed    faith — ^in 


358  CONSOLATION. 

securing  to  us  tlie  possibility  (these  are  the  words 
of  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England),  nay,  the 
actual  enjoyment,  had  it  not  been  for  the  Antichrist 
of  the  priesthood,  of  Christ's  holy  and  glorious 
church,  the  congregation  and  commonwealth  of 
Christ's  people.* 

O  my  brethren,  we  should  have  higher  views 
of  Christ  and  of  his  religion,  if  we  could  enter  more 
fully  into  the  conflicts  of  those  who  have  suffered 
for  his  sake  ;  if  we  could  trace  the  gi'owth  of  Chris- 
tian martyrdom  from  its  first  fainting  origin,  when 
the  shuddering  soul  dreaded  the  hour  of  coming 
trial ;  through  the  hours,  days,  weeks,  and  months 
of  prayer  and  meditation ;  up  to  the  critical  moment 
when  all  was  surrendered  and  all  ventured  for 
Christ ;  if  we  could  comprehend  the  resignation, 
the  peace,  and  the  victorious  confidence  of  the  in- 
stant, when  the  soul  reached  its  highest  joy  in  dis- 
solution, and  just  hovering  between  time  and  eter- 
nity forgot  its  pangs  in  the  visions  of  God.  O  what 
are  gibbets,  fires,  wild  beasts,  or  inquisitorial  racks, 
to  one  who  already  feels  his  union  with  Christ,  and 
knows  that  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory ! 

(3.)  The  martyrdom  of  God's  children  is  a  testi- 
mony that  God  will  he  with  us  in  our  own  coming 
trials.  The  argument  is  easy :  He  who  was  with 
them  will  be  with  us.  It  is  God's  presence  with  the 
martyr  which  sustains  him,  and  makes  him  callous 
to  the  knife  or  the  torture,  and  deaf  to  the  fierce 
clamours  of  the  multitude.     I  believe  that  the  soul 

*  Life,  p.  498. 


THE  MARTYRS.  359 

may  be  so  raised  above  suffering  of  tlie  body  as  to 
be  as  thougb  it  knew  tliem  not.  We  have  seen  it 
many  times  in  smaller  degree,  in  our  common  hu- 
man observation.  But  the  record  of  early  Christians 
and  of  those  who  suffered  under  poper^^,  shows  that 
grace  actually  neutralized  bodily  anguish. 

But  what  we  are  now  to  observe  is,  that  this 
sustaining  power  is  not  confined  to  the  dungeon,  the 
arena,  or  the  stake.  Martyrs  are  not  the  only  suf- 
ferers ;  and  wherever  there  are  Christian  sufferers, 
there  is  Christ.  In  vehement  diseases  ;  in  long-con- 
tinued and  exhausting  pains  of  body  ;  in  paroxysms 
of  anguish ;  in  nervous  trepidations,  sinkings  and 
horrors  ;  weaknesses  more  hard  to  bear  than  pain ; 
and  in  the  convulsions  of  death ;  the  bodies  of  be- 
lievers often  call  for  the  same  sustaining  power 
which  was  granted  to  the  martyrs,  and  they  receive 
it.  There  is  no  affliction  which  can  befall  us,  that 
is  too  great  for  grace.  Let  me  not  confine  myself 
to  distresses  of  the  outer  man.  There  are  wounds 
of  soul  which  are  greater  than  all  wounds  of  body. 
The  spirit  of  a  man  will  sustain  his  infirmity,  but  a 
wounded  spirit  who  can  bear  !  None,  my  brethren, 
unless  sustained  by  Him  who  "  healeth  the  broken 
in  heart,  and  bindeth  up  their  wounds." 

As  our  Lord  told  his  disciples  that  persecutions 
and  arrests  would  surely  come  upon  them,  but  that 
this  ought  not  to  dishearten,  as  it  should  turn  to 
them  for  a  testimony,  and  thus  they  should  be  able 
more  abundantly  to  show  forth  the  power  of  God : 
so  he  seems  to  tell  us,  that  trials  and  adversities 


360  CONSOLATION. 

will  overtake  us,  but  that  this  shall  turn  to  us  for  a 
testimony,  and  offer  new  occasions  to  glorify  our 
supporting  God.  We  cannot  tell  what  our  troubles 
shall  be ;  and  we  cannot  tell  what  our  consolations 
shall  be  under  them.  It  is  not  the  plan  of  our  Lord 
to  give  us  his  special  grace  before  it  is  needed.  We 
are  not  therefore  to  be  discouraged  because  we  have 
not  at  this  moment  that  boldness  and  resolution 
which  shall  be  needed  in  the  emergency.  God  will 
never  be  wanting.  He  has  said,  "  I  will  never  leave 
thee  nor  forsake  thee."  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can 
be  against  us  !  Especially  in  the  inevitable  hour  of 
death,  when  you  have  passed  beyond  the  reach  of 
physicians  and  dearest  friends,  and  when  those  who 
love  you  best  will  be  mute  and  motionless  beside 
your  bed ;  when  your  limbs  have  already  stretched 
themselves  for  the  coffin,  and  your  glassy  eyes  fixed 
themselves  in  their  last  position  ; — when  your  soul 
shall  be  falling  back  on  its  faith  (if  it  has  any)  and 
looking  forward  to  its  impending  judgment  ••  in  that 
hour,  the  God  of  the .  martyrs  will  be  with  you ! 
Let  every  recorded  triumph  of  faith  be  to  you  for  a 
testimony.  "  I  tremble,"  said  dying  Beza,  "  lest 
having  come  to  the  end  of  my  voyage,  I  now  make 
shipwreck,  in  the  very  harbour."  No,  no — Christ 
will  not  forsake  his  people  in  the  hour  of  their  ex- 
tremity. It  is  indeed  a  time,  when  Satan  often 
rages,  because  his  time  is  short ;  but  thanks  be  to 
God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  We  ought  often  to  be  entertaining 
thoughts  of  death,  and  of  our  own  dying ;  and  among 


THE  MARTYKS.  361 

the  considerations  whicli  help  to  prepare  for  this 
hour,  one  is  the  support  which  God  has  given  in 
former  times  to  those  who  were  dying  violent 
ileaths  for  his  sake.  Do  not  think  that  this  will 
make  death  more  dreadful.     All  the  contrary. 

The  writer  may  be  pardoned  for  making  an  ob- 
servation in  his  own  person.  Belonging  to  a  profes- 
sion which  often  calls  me  to  stand  by  dying  beds,  I 
do  here  testify,  that  I  have  never  had  the  dread  of 
death  so  much  removed,  as  when  I  have  seen  it 
triumphed  over  by  the  true  believer,  even  amidst 
great  pangs  of  body.  O  readers  (every  one  of  whom 
is  soon  to  die — though  some,  perhaps,  have  little  pre- 
paration), may  God  give  you  the  wisdom  to  be  se- 
curing that  provision  for  the  great  hour,  which  is 
derived  from  his  gospel !  For  be  assured,  the  faith 
of  the  martyrs  is  what  must  be  your  stay  in  that 
tremendous  moment. 

4.  Finally ;  as  it  is  not  forbidden  to  mingle  re- 
proof with  consolation,  the  testimony  of  martyrs  in 
their  pangs  is  a  testimony  against  ov/r  lukeiom'mness 
am.d  unbelief.  It  is  impossible  to  reflect  on  their 
history  and  not  own  this.  Theirs  was  Christianity  in 
earnest.  How  different  from  ours!  Suppose  a 
mighty  persecution  to  break  out  in  our  day ;  our 
churches  to  be  closed ;  our  ministry  to  be  imprison- 
ed, or  chased  away ;  our  Bibles  to  be  burnt.  Sup- 
pose coming  to  the  communion  to  be  the  same  as 
coming  to  peril  or  death.  Suppose  the  name  of 
Christ  a  reproach,  and  the  dominant  population 
armed  against  us ;  is  it  not  your  belief  that  many  a 


362  CONSOLATION. 

Christian  cliurcli  would  be  thinned,  and  that  many 
a  high  professor  would  be  found,  like  Simon  Peter, 
denying  in  the  outer  hall  ?  Of  this  there  were  some 
examples  in  early  times,  and  some  examples  even 
among  Christians.  They  were  called  Lapsi^  the 
lapsed.  But  O  with  what  bitterness  did  they 
lament  their  weakness,  even  to  the  end  of  life! 
You  remember  the  recantation  of  Cranmer,  and 
how  soon,  how  bitterly,  and  how  constantly  he  re- 
pented of  it.  His  dying  prayer  breathes  lowliness 
for  the  sin :  "  O  God  the  Son,  thou  wast  not  made 
man,  nor  was  this  great  mystery  wrought,  for  few 
or  small  qffences^'^  <fec.  Then  he  confessed  before 
the  people  his  inconstancy  mth  great  profusion  of 
tears,  saying,  "  the  great  thing  that  troubled  his  con- 
science was,  that  for  fear  of  death  he  had  written 
with  his  hand  contrary  to  the  truth  which  he 
thought  in  his  heart.  "  And  tlierefore  (cried  the  old 
man,  in  the  holy  violence  of  zeal),  my  hand  shall 
be  punished  first.  If  I  may  come  at  the  fire,  it  shall 
be  first  burnt!"  At  the  stake,  accordingly,  he 
stretched  out  his  hand,  which  was  distinctly  seen 
to  be  burning  alive,  and  cried,  "  This  hand  hath  of- 
fended T  Surely  he  could  say,  "  Like  Peter,  I  have 
sinned ;  but  by  grace,  like  Peter,  I  have  wept !" 
God  has  chosen  to  let  the  great  and  learned  some- 
times fall,  to  show  us  what  is  in  man  ;  and  to  hold 
up  the  timid  woman  and  the  feeble  child,  to  show 
us  what  is  in  God.  But,  fellow-Christians,  what 
preparation  have  you  for  trials,  losses,  fears,  pains, 
bereavements,  and  death  ?     If  you  can  so  ill  bear 


I  THE   MAETYES.  363 

the  daily  crosses  of  life,  and  are  so  easily  affirighted 
by  the  sneers  or  the  inconveniences  that  befall  you ; 
if  amidst  these  days  of  easy  and  honourable  Christi- 
anity, ye  find  it  so  hard  to  be  Christians,  how  will 
it  be  when  you  come  into  the  billows  of  mighty  con- 
flict ?  And  the  quotation  may  be  repeated  :  "  If  thou 
hast  run  with  the  footmen,  and  they  have  wearied 
thee,  then  how  canst  thou  contend  with  horses ;  and 
if  in  the  land  of  peace,  wherein  thou  trustedst,  they 
wearied  thee,  then  how  wilt  thou  do  in  the  swellings 
of  JordanT'^ 

Let  such  things  bring  us  to  a  most  serious  con- 
sideration of  the  temper  of  our  religion.  Those  pro- 
visions suit  the  calm  which  are  utterly  insufficient 
in  the  tempest.  The  religion  of  the  martyrs,  need 
I  say  it,  was  a  religion  all  in  earnest.  They  died  for  it, 
they  died  by  it.  It  caused  them  to  die ;  but  it  caused 
them  to  die  rejoicing.  Christ  was  their  all.  When 
holy  Polycarp  was  summoned  to  deny  Christ,  he  re- 
plied :  "  Eighty  and  six  years  have  I  served  him,  and 
he  hath  done  me  no  harm:  how  can  I  revile  my 
King,  who  hath  saved  me  V  When  Robert  Glover,  in 
Queen  Mary's  reign,  was  preparing  for  hj^  death,  he 
prayed  all  night  long  for  strength  and  courage,  and 
seemed  to  find  none,  till  on  a  sudden  he  was  so  re- 
plenished with  comfort  and  heavenly  joys,  that  he 
cried  out  to  his  Mend  Bernher,  "  Austin,  He  is  come  ! 
he  is  come  P  and  went  to  the  stake  with  the  alacrity 
of  one  going  to  the  chief  festival  •of  life.  Now,  these 
men  were  in  earnest;  and  theirs  was  an  earnest 
faith ;  it  was  their  very  life :  to  them,  to  live  was 


364  CONSOLATION. 

Christ;  to  die  was  gain.  My  bretliren,  how  is  it 
with  us  ?  I  say  not,  are  we  ready  for  martyrdom, 
for  this  would  be  no  fair  criterion ;  but  are  we  deep- 
ly concerned  with  the  things  of  God  ?  have  they  so 
entered  our  souls  as  to  be  our  very  life  ?  Are  we 
pressing  on,  against  difficulties  and  oppositions, 
with  a  heart-felt  conviction,  that  union  with  Christ 
is  every  thing  ?  Are  we  awake  to  our  great  necessi- 
ties, and  to  the  solemn  realities  which  are  impending 
over  us  ?  Have  we  deliberately  renounced  this 
world  for  our  rest  and  portion,  as  a  great  bubble,  and 
laid  hold  on  eternal  life  ?  Is  our  faith  in  any  respect 
"  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  and  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen  ?" 

Deeply  consider,  that  the  visible  church  has 
tares  among  the  wheat ;  and  that  on  the  good  foun- 
dation of  gold  are  built  much  wood,  hay,  stubble, 
which  shall  not  endure  the  flames.  I  see  no  way  of 
arriving  at  high  confidence,  but  by  casting  ourselves 
into  religion  as  the  all-absorbing  interest.  Our  half- 
way Christianity,  operative  on  Sabbaths  and  in 
the  sanctuary,  is  not  the  thing  we  need.  Every  suf- 
fering of  ^sciples  in  former  days  of  conflict  and 
confession,  ousrht  to  rebuke  and  stimulate  us.  God 
has  graciously  given  us  prosperity,  harvest,  peace. 
But  that  robe  of  consistency,  which  Satan  cannot 
wrest  from  us  by  the  keen  wind  of  adversity,  we 
sometimes  let  slip  under  the  sunshine  of  worldly 
favour.  There  are*  summer  as  well  as  winter  dan- 
gers. It  is  recorded  of  a  certain  man  that  on  read- 
ing the  New  Testament,  he  exclaimed,  "  Either  this 


THE   MAKTYES.  365 

is  not  Cliiistianity  or  we  are  not  Christians  1"  Tlie 
same  might  be  said  of  some  among  us.  For  what 
signs  do  we  read  concerning  primitive  believers,  and 
the  evidences  of  their  faith  ?  They  "  had  trial  of 
cruel  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover,  of 
bonds  and  imprisonments ;  they  were  stoned,  they 
were  sawn  asunder ;  were  tempted,  were  slain  with 
the  sword ;  they  wandered  about  in  sheepskins  and 
goatskins ;  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented ;  they 
wandered  in  deserts  and  mountains,  and  in  dens  and 
caves  of  the  earth."  It  is  remarkable  that  the  most 
eminent  piety  has  been  nurtured  under  tribulations. 
Baxter's  Saint's  Rest,  in  part,  and  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  and  many  of  the  seraphic  letters  of  Samuel 
Rutherford,  were  written  in  prison.  Shall  we,  there- 
fore, desire  prisons,  and  pray  for  persecution?  I 
trow  not.  Let  us  be  thankful  for  our  prosperity ; 
but  let  us  mark  its  dangers.  Sound,  unbroken 
health,  honour  among  men,  domestic  comforts,  great 
wealth ;  these  are  not  usually  the  means  of  exalted 
piety.  Against  the  temptations  of  these  we  should 
be  vigilantly  preparing  ourselves.  And  to  aid  us, 
we  should  be  often  contemplating  the  lives  and 
deaths  of  those  who  by  faith  and  patience  inherit 
the  promises. 

The  crowning  act  of  the  martyrs'  Christianity 
was  their  despising  this  mortal  life,  and  deliberately 
throwing  it  away  for  the  sake  of  another.  And 
is  this  peculiar  to  martyrdom?  What  saith  our 
Lord  ?  If  any  man  hate  not  his  own  life  also,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple.     The  martyrs  gave  up  life 


366  f!m^^anT.ATIam 

rather  tlian  give  up  Christ.  And  can  we  hope  to 
compound  for  any  thing  less  ?  It  is  of  the  very  es- 
sence of  all  genuine  religious  experience,  that  Christ 
is  above  all.  We  are  not  to  count  our  own  lives 
dear  to  us.  And  this  state  of  mind  is  to  be  attain- 
ed only  by  higher  measures  of  faith,  and  by  keeping 
the  soul's  eye  intently  fixed  on  the  person  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  until  we  be  ravished  with  his  love,  and 
ready  to  die  that  we  may  be  with  him  for  ever. 
But  I  must  bring  these  observations  to  a  close,  espe- 
cially when  I  reflect  how  many  there  are  who  not 
only  have  not  these  eminent  traits  of  piety,  but  have 
no  faith  whatever ;  and  to  whom  all  that  can  be  said 
on  this  subject  must  be  matter  oi  wearmess,  if  not 
of  incredulity.  Perhaps  it  may  profit  even  them  to 
reflect,  that  the  way  to  heaven  is  not  without  dif- 
ficulties ;  and  that  many  shall  seek  to  enter  in,  and 
shall  not  be  able.  Among  high  professors,  some 
shall  perish.  Among  true  believers,  some  shall  be 
saved  "  as  by  fire."  "  And  if  the  righteous  scarcely 
be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner 
appear  V^ 


THE  AGE1>  BELIEVER  CONSOIxED  BY 
«40D'S  PROMISE. 


XVI. 

HOLY  Scripture  takes  cognizance  of  the  varicma 
circumstances  and  stages  of  man's  life,  and  we 
should  do  the  like  when  we  use  the  pen  for  the  con- 
solation of  Christ's  suffering  people.  To  the  young 
we  often  have  to  address  ourselves  in  cautions  fitted 
to  rebuke  the  sanguine  excesses  of  hope,  but  to  the 
aged  our  task  is  more  in  the  way  of  cheering,  for 
which  the  gospel  makes  ample  provision.  If  their 
number  is  small,  their  demand  upon  our  sympathy 
and  love  is  not  the  less  imperative.  Besides  the 
claim  which  they  make  upon  us  as  frequent  suffer- 
ers, they  are  repeatedly  and  earnestly  commended 
to  our  reverence  in  the  word  of  God ;  and  any  volume 
of  consolation  would  be  strikingly  defective  from 
which  their  case  should  be  left  out. 

Length  of  days  is  a  scriptural  blessing,  and  was 
eminently  such  under  the  Hebrew  theocracy,  where 
earthly  benefits  were  the  perpetual  type  of  spiritual 
favours.  As  death  was  a  penalty,  so  the  shortening 
of  man's  days  was  a  token  of  God's  anger  towards 
the  race ;  and  under  every  dispensation  the  hoary 
head  is  a  crown  of  glory  to  the  righteous.  Lon- 
gevity, which  in  the  case  of  the  wicked  only  aggra 
24 


ZIO  CONSOLATION. 

vates  sin,  and  its  awful  reckoning,  affords  to  true  "be^ 
lievers  a  longer  term  of  useful  service  and  lioly 
example,  increased  proficiency  in  gifts  and  graces, 
and  a  corresponding  recompense.  Old  age  has  its 
appropriate  beauty,  no  less  tlian  youth.  To  the  eye 
which  can  wisely  discern  there  is  a  mature  loveli- 
ness in  the  "  shock  of  corn  that  cometh  in  its  season." 
Thus  we  contemplate  the  kindly  decline  of  the  an- 
cient patriarchs  with  a  filial  veneration,  and  in  our 
own  circle  turn  with- a  healthful  complacency  from  the 
gayeties  of  inexperienced  youth  to  the  father  and  the 
mother  "  whose  ripe  experience  doth  attain  to  some- 
what of  prophetic  strain  ;"  so  that  I  envy  not  him 
who  does  not  often  love  to  draw  near  the  sequestered 
corner  that  is  honoured  by  the  chair  of  reverend 
wisdom  and  graceful  piety,  where  the  wearied  an- 
cient or  the  cherished  matron  sits  enthroned  in  the 
affections  of  an  observant  filial  group.  Yet  while 
this  period  of  life  has  its  deserved  honours,  it  has  its 
trials  likewise. 

First  among  the  ills  of  old  age  is  infirmity  of 
body.  "  The  days  of  our  years  are  threescore  years 
and  ten,  and  if  by  reason  of  strength  they  be  four- 
score years,  yet  is  their  strength  labour  and  sorrow." 
Even  if  previous  life  has  been  exempt  from  bodily 
pain  and  weakness,  the  season  of  decline  is  usually 
visited  with  manifold  diseases,  some  of  which  are 
peculiar  to  old  age.  Burdens  which  were  scarcely 
felt  in  the  mid-day  pilgrimage,  are  apt  to  become 
intolerable  torments  towards  the  evening  shadows. 
Scattered  over  the  church  stnd  the  world,  there  are 


OLD   AGE.  371 

thousands  of  persons  in  their  respective  nooks  of 
seclusion,  as  much  lost  to  society  as  if  they  were  in 
dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.  Their  place  in  the 
house  of  God  has  been  filled  by  others,  and  the 
church  has  long  ceased  to  observe  the  vacancy 
caused  by  their  absence,  except  so  far  as  some  pastor 
or  pious  friend  seeks  them  out,  to  smooth  their  rude 
descent  into  the  grave.  But  each  has  his  sorrows, 
and  needs  his  consolation. 

The  weakness  and  lassitude  of  old  age  are  fami- 
liar, yet  these  often  take  men  by  surprise.  So  re- 
luctant are  most  to  admit  the  mortifying  approach 
of  these  closing  languors,  that  they  need  more  than 
the  "three  warnings"  of  the  poet.  The  steps  by 
which  age  advances  are  often  stealthy  and  imper- 
ceptible. Gray  hairs  are  scattered  here  and  there, 
and  they  know  it  not.  The  beauty  of  the  counte- 
nance is  consumed,  and  gives  places  to  wrinkles, 
sunken  features,  a  stooping  frame  and  tottering 
limbs.  The  dainties  of  the  feast  invite,  but  no  longer 
gratify.  The  senses  become  obtuse,  and  the  sufferer 
enters  into  the  experience  of  Barzillai :  "  How  long 
have  I  to  live,  that  I  should  go  up  with  the  king 
unto  Jerusalem?  I  am  this  day  fourscore  years 
old ;  and  can  I  discern  between  good  and  evil  ? 
Can  thy  servant  taste  what  I  eat  or  what  I  drink  ? 
Can  I  hear  any  more  the  voice  of  singing  men  and 
singing  women  ?  Wherefore  should  thy  servant  be 
yet  a  burden  unto  my  lord  the  king  ?"  To  such  a 
one  the  grasshopper  is  a  burden,  nay  he  is  a  burden 


372  CONSOLATION. 

unto  himself.     It  is  a  condition  in  wMcli  lie  mani 
festly  needs  support. 

Tlie  absence  of  former  companions  belongs  to 
"tbe  time  of  old  age."  Amidst  tbeir  troops  of 
friends,  tbe  young  think  little  of  this ;  but  the  longer 
a  man  lives,  the  more  does  he  outlive  the  associates 
of  his  early  days.  And  though  Dr.  Johnson  wisely 
advises  men  who  advance  in  years  to  "  keep  their 
friendships  in  repair,"  it  is  unquestionably  true,  that 
the  susceptibility  for  such  attachments  grows  less 
with  the  decline  of  life.  The  tree  which  has  outlived 
the  forest  stands  in  mournful  solitude,  and  is  lopped 
of  its  branches,  and  exposed  to  storms.  If  these 
pages  fall  under  the  notice  of  an  aged  reader,  he 
will  readily  assent  to  the  truth  of  what  is  said,  being 
able  with  ease  to  number  up  all  that  remain  of 
those  who  shared  his  early  joys.  Childhood  seems 
far  back  in  the  distance;  parents  have  been  long 
removed ;  brothers,  sisters,  friends  have  gone  before ; 
perhaps,  we  must  add  poverty,  widowhood,  and 
childless  desolation, 

The  solitary  condition  of  aged  persons  is  aggra- 
vated by  the  indisposition  of  the  young  to  seek  their 
company ;  so  that  we  often  find  them  constrained  to 
pass  days  of  weariness  and  evenings  of  gloom.  Ex- 
cept where  there  is  eager  expectancy  of  some  wealth 
to  be  divided,  the  old  man  is  left  to  sit  alone,  which 
naturally  leads  to  another  trial. 

The  neglect  of  society  is  keenly  felt  in  "  the 
time  of  old  age."  We  are  fond  of  saying,  that  old 
age  is  honourable;  but  the  writer  has  lived  long 


OLD   AGE.  373 

enougli  to  observe  tliat  in  point  of  fact  it  receives 
little  honour,  except  for  certain  adventitious  accom- 
paniments. The  famous  story  of  Plutarch  concern- 
ing the  Athenians  and  the  Spartans  has  its  full  appli- 
cation here.  No  man  loves  to  find  himself  a  super- 
fluity. In  America  we  are  more  Athenian  than 
Spartan  in  our  treatment  of  the  aged.  Boys  soon 
become  men  among  us ;  men  soon  grow  old ;  old  men 
are  soon  forgotten.  Venerable  persons  are  some- 
times honoured  for  their  wealth — such  is  our  traffick- 
ing, mammon-serving,  ignoble  view  of  things — or  for 
their  place  or  power,  but  how  seldom  for  their 
years !  The  stripling,  with  his  "  gold  ring  and 
goodly  apparel,"  shall  have  more  to  show  respect  to 
his  "  gay  clothing,"  and  to  say,  "  sit  thou  here  in  a 
good  place,"  than  the  poor  man  of  hoary  hairs.  It 
is  a  serious  question  whether  neglect  of  superiors  in 
general  is  not  a  national  sin.  Carrying  to  extrava- 
gance our  notions  of  equality,  we  can  brook  no  su- 
perior, and  will  own  no  master.  Hence  we  have 
come  to  hear  lads  manifesting  their  spirit  by  giving 
tb  father  or  mother,  whom  they  should  reverence 
next  to  God,  appellations  of  jocose  familiarity  or  dis- 
respect. Now  he  who  does  not  honour  his  parents 
will  honour  no  one  else,  except  to  eat  of  his  morsel. 
The  world's  neglect  is  an  ingredient  in  many  a 
cup  of  old  age.  The  rich  may  not  know  it ;  but  the 
rich  are  not  all  the  world,  nor,  taken  as  a  class,  the 
best  part  of  it;  and  if  all  their  claims  to  honour  are 
founded  on*  revenue,  they  are  poor  indeed.  There 
is  many  a  good  man,  far  gone  in  the  vale  of  years, 


8T4  CONSOLATION. 

wlio  feels  tlie  saddening  cliange  from  tlie  days  when 
all  hastened  to  do  him  reverence. 

Decay  of  natural  spirits  belongs  to  "the  time 
of  old  age."  The  outworn  traveller  says  of  these. 
days,  "  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them."  "  The  daugh- 
ters of  music  are  brought  low."  This  period  of  life 
is  proverbially  one  of  caution;  and  caution  easily 
lapses  into  timidity.  The  old  man  pauses  at  the 
leap  which  twenty  years  ago  he  would  have  taken 
at  a  bound.  It  is  the  habit  of  his  life  to  forecast 
the  future,  if  not  to  forebode.  Experience  has 
taught  him  to  see  dangers  on  every  hand.  But  be- 
sides this,  weakness  of  body  brings  with  it  depres- 
sion and  sadness.  The  aged  are  solitary  even  in  the 
thronged  assembly.  They  muse  and  pine.  There 
is  much  in  the  past  to  make  them  thoughtful :  great 
experience  has  opened  to  them  many  sources  of  sor- 
row, all  unknown  to  the  gay  circle  around  them ; 
and  what  can  they  expect  for  the  morrow  ?  Shut 
out  from  active  employment,  or  slow  to  learn  that 
their  competency  is  lessened,  they  feel  their  isola- 
tion. If  an  irritable  frame  and  sensitive  tempera- 
ment superadd  to  these  things  irascibility,  and  peev- 
ishness, how  greatly  are  the  ills  increased!  All 
this  makes  it  the  more  rare  and  signal,  when  we  be- 
hold a  contented  and  cheerful  old  age ;  and,  through 
God's  infinite  grace,  and  the  influence  of  4is  Holy 
Spirit,  we  are  sometimes  called  to  this  edifying  and 
delightful  spectacle. 

The  approach  of  eternity  confers  solemnity  on 
"  the  time  of  old  age."     This  single  consideration  is 


OLD    AGE.  375 

sufficient  to  overshadow  tlie  soul  witli  a  solemnity 
unknown  before ;  and  though  we  sometimes  find 
triflers  who  are  advanced  in  life,  the  best  and  wisest 
are  made  serious  and  considerate.  Yet  facts  do  not 
justify  the  assertion,  that  the  bare  increase  of  years 
does  any  thing  towards  the  conversion  of  the  sinner. 
The  youthful  reader  should  take  warning,  when  he 
sees  the  aged  dying  on  every  side,  and  others  with 
hoary  hairs  standing  around  their  graves  uncon- 
cerned. Nevertheless  some  truly  lay  this  to  heart, 
and  to  these  it  is  a  trial.  It  is  the  dreadful  case  of 
some  to  be  given  up  to  despairing  thoughts  on  the 
approach  of  death. 

But  it  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  all  the  parti- 
culars which  go  to  make  up  the  burden  of  old  age : 
we  turn  with  more  alacrity  to  the  consolations 
which  are  afforded  by  the  word  of  God. 

There  is  a  sentence  of  the  Psalmist  which  points 
out  the  direction  in  which  he  who  is  laden  w4th 
years  may  look  for  cheering.  It  is  that  exclama- 
tion in  the  seventy-first  Psalm,  "  Cast  me  not  off  in 
the  time  of  old  age,  forsake  me  not  when  my 
strength  faileth."  Though  a  prayer,  it  is  also  a 
promise.  For  when  God  himself  dictates  a  peti 
tion,  and  so  to  speak  puts  it  into  our  mouths,  it  as- 
sures us  that  w^hat  he  thus  prompts  us  to  ask,  he  is 
ready  to  bestow.  These  words  may  therefore  be  con- 
sidered as  revealing  the  basis  of  comfort  and  support 
offered  to  an  aged  Christian.  It  is  as  though  he 
said,  Man  may  cast  me  off;  society  may  cast  me  off; 
friends,  helpers,  even  children  may  abandon  me ;  but 


376  CONSOLATION. 

O  my  God,  cast  not  Thou  me  off,  in  the  time  of  old 
age  !  It  is  a  lawful,  an  urgent,  a  comprehensive 
prayer,  and  may  be  studied  in  its  several  meanings, 
with  edification. 

"  Leave  me  not  to  helpless  imbecility !"  It  is 
permitted  to  deprecate  extreme  poverty.  We  are 
taught  to  pray,  '  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread." 
The  old  disciple  is  not  forbidden  to  ask  under  sub- 
mission to  God's  holy  will,  that  he  may  be  exempted 
from  wasting  languors  and  decrepitude.  But  sub- 
mission has  here  a  large  part  to  perform.  As  we 
resign  to  the  decision  of  our  faithful  Creator  the 
time  and  manner  of  our  death,  so  must  we  leave 
ourselves  implicitly  in  his  hands,  as  to  the  whole 
colour  of  our  latter  days.  Competence  and  poverty 
are  at  his  disposal.  Nevertheless  it  is  thus  recorded 
by  one  who  knew,  "  I  have  been  young  and  now 
am  old,  yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous  forsaken, 
nor  his  seed  begging  bread."  And  if  any  may  ap- 
propriate the  cheering  words,  the  aged  may  surely 
so  do :  "  Be  content  with  such  things  as  ye  have, 
for  He  hath  said,  I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake 
thee  ;"  words  which  seem  written  to  be  a  heavenly 
answer  to  this  very  petition  of  the  Psalmist.  The 
whole  connection,  however,  shows,  that  the  servant 
of  God  may  be  sometimes  reduced  to  straits  and  ap- 
prehensions, in  which  his  faith  is  sorely  tried,  and 
in  which  he  can  look  to  none  but  God.  Yet  we 
have  reason  to  encourage  every  believer,  whose  old 
age  is  encompassed  with  cares  about  worldly  subsist- 
ence, to  stay  himself  on  the  Lord  his  Preserver. 


OLD   AGE.  377 

The  prayer  further  implies,  "  Be  thou  a  friend 
to  me  under  the  loss  of  friends."  There  is  a  wide 
scope  of  application  in  those  words :  "  When  my 
father  and  mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will 
take  me  up."  The  degree  of  comfort  which  this  con- 
sideration brings  to  any  individual,  will  be  in  pro- 
portion to  the  reality  of  his  previous  communion  with 
God.  He  who  has  made  God  his  friend,  and  has 
humbly  and  lovingly  walked  with  him  during  a  life- 
time, is  prepared  to  endure  with  equanimity  the  loss 
of  friends.  In  days  of  prosperity,  when  his  children 
were  around  him,  and  his  table  was  encircled  with 
guests,  he  already  looked  to  God  as  his  covenant 
friend  and  supporter;  how  much  more  when  his 
windows  are  darkened,  and  the  coals  have  died  out 
upon  his  hearth.  He  has  learned  before  this  great 
trial  came,  to  turn  to  God  as  the  enlightener  of  his 
solitary  way,  and  the  portion  of  his  soul.  Like 
Abraham,  he  has,  early  in  his  pilgrimage,  heard  a 
voice  saying,  "  Fear  not ;  I  am  thy  shield,  and  thy 
exceeding  great  reward."  Now,  therefore,  when  he 
begins  to  find  himself  alone  in  the  world,  he  is  be- 
yond expression  thankful  that  he  has  not  this  divine 
acquaintanceship  to  seek.  He  is  sure  that  the  Lord 
has  not  brought  him  thus  far  to  make  him  a  laugh- 
ing-stock to  his  soul's  enemies.  God  will  help  him, 
and  that  right  early.  Many  are  the  aged  saints 
who  can  join  in  the  exultation,  "So  that  we  may 
boldly  say.  The  Lord,  is  my  helper,  and  I  will  not  fear 
what  man  shall  do  unto  me." 

Suppose  the  worst  case,  even  that  of  desolating 


378  CONSOLATION. 

bereavement  and  complete  insulation :  an  aged  be* 
liever  left  without  partner,  cliild,  or  relative  on 
earth ;  if  he  has  made  God  his  friend,  he  can  still 
say,  "My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon  God,  for  my 
expectation  is  from  him."  And  God  is  wont  to  an- 
swer the  prayer  of  the  desolate  by  stirring  up  the 
tender  mercies  of  man.  Friends  are  raised  up  for 
the  forlorn  and  sinking  one.  This  is  a  considera- 
tion which  ought  to  lead  pious  and  charitable  per- 
sons in  our  churches  to  turn  their  attention  to  the 
aged.  Very  often,  it  is  not  so  much  temporal  aid 
which  they  require,  as  the  smile  of  recognition,  the 
light  of  a  friendly  countenance,  the  voice  of  cheer- 
ing, the  hand  that  lifts  the  latch  of  the  solitary 
chamber,  the  Christian  conference,  and  the  fellow- 
ship of  prayer.  Let  the  reader  ask  himself  whe- 
ther this  duty  has  not  been  neglected,  and  whether 
there  is  not,  even  within  his  own  communion  and 
neighbourhood,  some  ancient  servant  of  God  to 
whom  he  might  render  the  offices  of  a  son  or  a 
brother.  But  by  whatever  means  it  may  be  accom- 
plished, the  Lord  will  not  allow  his  aged  servants 
to  sink  under  their  bereavements. 

He  who  prays,  "  Cast  me  not  off,"  furthermore 
asks  thus,  "  Cheer  me  by  thy  presence,  under  the 
neglects  of  men."  None  have  greater  need  than  the 
aged  to  concentrate  their  regards  on  the  honour 
which  Cometh  from  God ;  for  the  attentions  and 
complimentary  tributes  of  society  are  usually  seen  to 
decrease  as  age  advances.  The  world  casts  off  it3 
old  servants,  but  God  does  not  cast  them  off.     A 


OLD   AGE.  379 

man  who  has  set  great  value  on  the  caresses  and 
adulation  of  the  people  during  his  middle  life,  is  in  a 
fair  way  to  see  the  matter  in  its  true  light  when  he 
falls  into  decay.  Then  it  is  that  he  finds  his  flatter- 
ers vanishing,  like  birds  of  passage  which  seek  more 
sunny  climes.  In  such  circumstances  it  is  an  invalu- 
able blessing  to  have  the  heart  fixed  on  God.  His 
approval  and  praise  have  a  heavenly  quality  about 
them  which  fills  and  satisfies  the  soul. 

The  prayer  of  the  aged  imports,  moreover,  this, 
"  Sustain  my  sinking  spirits  by  the  hopes  of  thy  gos- 
pel and  the  ministrations  of  thy  grace."  This  is  pos 
sible,  though  it  is  against  nature.  We  have  seen 
such  trophies  of  grace.  Especially  could  I  name  an 
aged  disciple,  whose  latter  days  were  by  far  his 
best,  even  in  regard  to  this  point.  As  years  advanc 
ed,  he  became  less  restless  and  susceptible  under 
the  vexations  of  life;  his  temper  was  more  even, 
his  spirits  more  cheerful,  and  his  benignant  smile 
more  abiding.  If  the  reader  will  give  himself  the 
pains  to  make  a  survey,  he  will  find  numerous  in- 
stances of  this  kind  among  the  churches.  And  such 
a  one  is  more  lovely  then  in  the  sight  of  God  than 
ever  amidst  the  florid  exuberance  of  youthful  prom- 
ise ;  more  wise,  more  pure,  more  holy,  more  tranquil, 
more  benignly  humble.  Let  the  young  be  invited 
to  seek  the  company  of  such ;  the  Isaacs,  Israels,  and 
Johns  of  our  church.  Let  them  be  sought  for  as 
hid  treasure,  though  the  quest  may  take  us  among 
the  humblest  of  society.  Those  of  ust  who  exercise 
the  ministerial  profession  have  been  taught  tliat  some 


380  CONSOLATION. 

of  the  most  instructive  and  most  lovely  objects  to  a 
Christian  eye  are  concealed  in  garrets,  cellars,  and 
beds  of  suffering.  A  poor,  frivolous,  time-serving, 
mercenary,  contemptible  world,  judges  otherwise ; 
but  when  their  money  perishes  with  them,  true  ho- 
liness aud  happiness  shall  survive  the  shock  of  death, 
and  go  into  eternity.  The  sun  shines  on  nothing 
more  glorious  than  a  truly  ripe  believer  waiting  to 
be  gathered  into  the  garner  of  the  Lord.  To  com- 
prehend the  greatness  of  such  proficiency  we  must 
know  its  hinderances.  There  are  many  characters 
which  maintain  their  consistency  well  during  seasons 
of  prosperity,  but  which  would  be  sadly  shaken  by 
the  stormy  weather  of  old  age. 

The  aged  man's  prayer  includes,  finally,  "  Cast 
me  not  off  on  the  approach  of  death."  Does  the 
reader,  peradventure,  feel  in  his  members  the  signs 
of  declining  years  ?  Then  let  him  consider  that  old 
age  is  the  beginning  of  death.  It  is  true  death  may 
greatly  anticipate  old  age  ;  but  he  that  is  old  is  as- 
suredly on  the  brink  of  death.  Natural  fears  hover 
about  the  most  careless  in  regard  to  this  impending 
catastrophe.  The  rehef  which  most  aged  sinners  have 
is  by  the  method  of  diversion,  or  the  turning  away 
of  the  mind  from  the  revolting  object.  But  this  is 
a  miserable  resort,  and  a  few  spasms  or  pangs  are 
sufficient  to  shake  a  sturdy  and  impenitent  soul 
out  of  this  refuge  of  Hes.  Let  the  truth  be  told ; 
there  is  no  real  consolation  under  fears  of  death  but 
in  God.  "  The  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  un* 
derstandiog"  can   make  an  infirm  and  threatened 


OLD   AGE.  381 

old  man  go  down  firmly  into  tlie  valley.  Suppose 
God  should,  after  all,  cast  off  liis  servant  in  the  time 
of  old  age  !  '  It  is  a  surmise  which  sometimes  daiia 
across  the  soul.  But  no,  he  will  not.  ''  Even  to  old 
age  am  I  he,  and  to  hoary  hairs  will  I  carry  you." 
The  dictation  of  such  a  prayer  is  equal  to  a  promise 
that  it  shall  be  answered. 

We  have  looked  with  wonder  and  delight  on  an 
aged  disciple  thus  waiting  till  his  change  come.  He 
is  not  exempt  from  the  infirmities  and  pains  which 
beset  this  season  of  life ;  but  his  mind  is  drawn  away 
from  them  to  ^x  itself  on  the  "  exceeding  and  eter- 
nal weight  of  glory."  He  knows  not  at  what  mo- 
ment his  summons  may  come,  but  he  knows  whom 
he  has  believed,  and  is  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to 
keep  the  great  deposit  until  that  day.  Christian 
hope  does  not  allow  him  to  give  way  under  the 
disquietudes  of  life.  It  is  his  endeavour  to  show, 
by  the  uniformity  of  his  cheerfulness,  that  religion 
can  despoil  even  old  age  of  its  terrors.  Among 
younger  Christians  he  sits  as  a  patriarch  who  has 
experienced  aU  the  diversities  of  the  disciple's  lot ; 
has  discovered  the  emptiness  of  the  world,  and  has 
made  what  remains  of  the  present  life  a  meditation 
of  the  life  to  come.  His  great  business,  therefore,  is 
to  prepare  for  eternity.  But  this  he.  does  without 
perturbation  or  servile  dread.  Long  ago  he  has 
cast  his  burden  on  the  Lord,  and  ventured  his  ever- 
lasting hopes  on  the  promise  of  mercy  in  Christ 
Jesus;  and  having  been  sealed  with  that  blessed 
Spirit  of  promise,  he  looks  into  the  future  with  a 


382  CONSOLATION. 

confidence  founded  on  divine  authority ;  having  a  de- 
sire to  depart  and  be  with  Christ.  Such  a  condi- 
tion as  this  is  among  the  happiest  on  earth ;  and  it 
throws  a  radiance  of  commendation  over  the  gospel 
which  produces  it.  The  Lord  does  not  forsake  his 
people.  In  those  emergencies  of  Hfe  in  which  their 
strength  is  most  tried,  he  may  be  supposed  to  regard 
them  with  peculiar  tenderness.  And  at  length  he 
abolishes  death,  and  admits  them  to  the  glories  of 
the  eternal  state. 

Where  Christian  graces  are  vigorous,  the  aged 
disciple  will  be  much  in  meditation  of  that  eternal 
world  which  he  is  approaching.  Thither  the  majo- 
rity of  the  brethren  whom  he  has  known  here  have 
entered  before  him.  Every  bodily  pang  and  weak- 
ness suggests  to  him  by  contrast  the  blessed  exemp- 
tions and  perfect  delights  of  a  state  where  God  shall 
wipe  all  tears  from  the  eyes.  At  the  resurrection, 
the  soul  and  body  shall  be  reunited ;  and  the  body 
which  shall  be  raised  will  have  no  frailties  or  sus- 
ceptibilities of  distress.  It  is  comfort  for  the  aged 
saint,  aching  with  the  weariness  of  a  hard  pilgrim- 
age, to  muse  on  the  day  when  his  body  shall  be 
newly  fitted  for  the  service  of  the  soul,  and  when  he 
shall  emerge  into  the  balmy  springtide  of  perpetual 
youth.  He  knows  that  he  shall  exchange  the  soli- 
tude and  neglect  of  a  world  where  he  has  long  felt 
himself  a  stranger,  for  the  associations  of  that  com- 
munion to  which  the  wise,  and  holy,  and  blessed  of 
all  nations,  churches,  and  dispensations  have  been 
adding  themselves  for  ages.     Groaning  under  the 


OLD   AGE. 


consciousness  of  imperfection  in  his  best  services,  he 
lights  up  with  rapture  at  the  thought  of  a  world  ^J 
where  he  shall  glorify  God  without  weariness,  inter-  ^~- 
mission,  or  defect.  Remembering  the  clouds  and 
darkness  of  his  sad  journey,  he  longs  for  the  per- 
fect light  in  which  he  shall  see  face  to  face,  and 
know  even  as  also  he  is  known.  This  hope,  which 
brightens  as  graces  become  mature,  may  be  consid- 
ered the  prime  consolation  of  old  age.  Where  it  is 
possessed  in  large  measure,  it  is  a  full  indemnity  for 
losses  and  an  antidote  to  the  poisonous  influences  of 
this  mortal  condition. 

Consolation  in  old  age  is  much  promoted  by  a 
thankful  review  of  God's  providence  as  to  the  past. 
This  appears  to  be  included  in  that  remarkable  pro- 
mise, Isaiah  46  :  4 ;  "I  have  made  and  I  will  bear." 
Pie  that  made  us  and  preserves  us,  will  continue  to 
care  for  us.  God  will  not  suffer  those  on  whom  he 
has  expended  so  much  to  fail  at  the  last.  The  fact, 
that  the  believer  has  already  passed  through  so 
many  toils  and  dangers  unhurt,  affords  good  reason 
to  hope  that  he  shall  be  carried  through  all,  even 
the  last  and  worst. 

The  eye  of  the  aged  pilgrim  takes  ia,  from  his 
eminence  of  observation  and  retrospect,  a  great  ex- 
tent of  way  which  he  has  traversed.  In  this  he 
recalls  many  a  spot  signalized  by  its  Ebenezer,  and 
testifying  to  the  faithfulness  of  God.  This  principle 
of  consolation  is  the  very  one  which  leads  the  sacred 
writers  to  such  frequent  recapitulations  of  Israel's 
way  through  the  wilderness;  Moses  also  recounts 


384  CONSOLATION. 

the  whole,  just  on  the  verge  of  the  promised  land. 
This  is  our  assurance  that  God  will  not  cast  off  in 
the  time  of  old  age,  that  he  has  clung  to  his  people 
for  their  help  in  all  preceding  times. 

If  now,  as  can  scarcely  be  denied,  there  are  pro- 
fessing Christians,  advanced  in  years,  and,  of  course, 
approaching  their  eternal  abode,  who  have  none  of 
this  peace ;  who  feel  the  burdens  of  life  more  keenly 
with  every  new  step  into  the  last  valley,  who  repine 
at  their  lot,  indulge  the  petulance  of  continual  com- 
plaint, and  shudder  at  their  inevitable  and  impending 
change ;  what  shall  we  say,  but  that  they  have  failed 
to  take  the  blessings  which  are  made  over  in  the 
covenant  gift  ?  They  have  not  from  the  heart  ut- 
tered that  prayer  of  the  Psalmist  which  we  have 
been  considering.  From  which  we  learn  this  mo- 
mentous lesson,  that  to  be  happy  in  old  age,  we 
must  regard  religion  as  the  one  thing  needful ;  not 
merely  as  important,  but  as  all-important;  that 
"  principal  thing,"  without  which  all  else  is  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit.  For  in  what  other  direction 
can  the  aged  look  for  comfort?  What  can  this 
world  offer  them  ?  They  have  tasted  eveiy  cup^ 
and  having  drunk  each  to  the  dregs,  have  found  it 
first  foam  and  then  bitterness.  They  have  but  a 
few  days,  possibly  not  a  single  day,  to  live.  Time 
is  hurrying  them  with  dreadful  rapidity  into  the 
presence  of  their  Judge.  Unless  they  have  sought 
his  kingdom  and  righteousness  first,  and  above  all ; 
unless  they  have  laid  up  their  treasure  and  their 
hearts  in  heaven,  they  are  absolutely  cut  off  from 


OLD   AGE.  385 

eyery  source  of  rational  enjoyment.  The  hand 
upon  the  awful  dial-plate  of  life  points  at  midnight, 
and  presently  comes  the  fatal  stroke.  Let  none 
suppose  that  a  mere  titular  standing  in  Christ's 
church,  or  a  name  among  professing  Christians,  af- 
fords a  basis  for  hope  amidst  the  despondencies  of 
age.  Generally,  those  who  possess  the  serene  en- 
joyments of  which  we  have  spoken,  are  such  as  be- 
gan to  make  God's  service  their  great  concern 
many  years  ago,  and  now,  in  the  autumn  of  their 
days,  are  reaping  the  golden  ears,  agreeably  to  the 
sowing  of  an  earlier  experience.  And  if  these  lines 
should  meet  the  eye  of  any  to  whom  such  a  prepa- 
ration is  all  unknown,  he  should  lay  down  the  book 
and  prepare  to  meet  his  God. 

One  of  the  greatest  consolations  of  old  age  is  to 
spend  what  remains  of  life  in  honouring  God.  Da- 
vid connects  this  with  one  of  his  pathetic  prayers : 
"  Now  also,  when  lam  old  and  grey-headed,  O  God 
forsake  me  not,  until  I  have  shown  thy  strength 
unto  this  generation,  and  thy  power  to  every  one 
that  is  to  come."  How  remarkably  this  was  accom- 
plished in  his  latter  days  we  know  very  well.  Ec- 
clesiastical history  relates  of  the  apostle  John,  that 
when  for  very  age  he  was  unable  any  longer  to 
preach  the  word,  he  used  to  be  carried  into  the 
Christian  assembly,  where  the  most  he  could  utter 
was,  "  Little  children,  love  one  another !"  The 
modern  church  affords  numerous  instances  of  an- 
cient believers,  who  "  still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old 
age."  Younger  disciples  properly  look  up  to  them 
25 


386  CONSOLATION. 

as  advisers,  and  endeavour  to  profit  by  tlieir  long 
experience.  Tlieir  very  patience  and  tranquillity, 
while  they  wait  for  their  Lord,  is  edifying  to  the 
church.  Their  words  fall  on  the  ear  with  peculiar 
weight  from  the  authority  of  mature  wisdom ;  and 
it  is  an  evil  day,  in  church  or  state,  when  any  for 
sake  "  the  counsel  of  the  old  men."^  For  these  rea- 
sons, aged  Christians  are  not  lightly  to  suppose  that 
their  work  is  done,  because  they  are  shut  out  from 
public  service.  It  may  be  that  God  is  more  glori- 
fied by  the  quiet  graces  of  their  eventide,  than  by 
their  most  strenuous  exertions  while  bearing  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day. 

In  the  wonderful  ordering  of  the  dispensation  of 
grace,  it  is  observed,  that  although  the  suscepti- 
bility of  new  impressions  from  objects  of  sense,  and 
the  pleasure  taken  in  passing  events  of  a  worldly 
nature,  are  very  much  abated  by  the  progress  of 
years,  it  is  not  so  in  regard  to  spiritual  enjoyments ; 
the  feeble  and  departing  servant  of  God  is  still  alive 
to  the  things  of  the  kingdom.  Memory,  imagination, 
even  the  perceptive  powers  may  be  seriously  im- 
paired, but  sensibility  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel 
remains  in  vigour ;  the  name  of  Jesus  is  still  delight- 
ful, and  the  coming  glory  of  the  kingdom  still 
cheers  the  soul.  For  such  a  blessed  experience, 
however,  there  must  have  been  a  long  preparation, 
by  daily  communion  with  God,  which  afibrds  an 
inducement  at  once  to  early  piety,  and  consistent 
walking    with   Christ,    throughout    the    years    of 

*1  Kings  12:  8. 


OLD  AGE.  38(f 

strength.  We  cannot  err  in  supposing  that  the  Lord 
of  such  a  servant  looks  down  upon  him  with  pecu- 
liar complacency  in  these  days  of  bodily  weakness 
"but  spiritual  ripening.  He  may  be  likened  to  the 
just  and  devout  Simeon,  who  took  the  infant  Jesus 
up  in  his  arms,  and  said,  "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou 
thy  servant  depart  in  peace."  He  knows  that  his 
salvation  is  nearer  than  when  he  believed.  As  one 
long  in  bondage  looks  out  wistfully  for  deliverance,  so 
he  lifts  up  his  head,  because  his  redemption  draweth 
nigh.  Weaned  in  some  good  measure  from  the 
world,  and  dead  to  its  appetites  and  pleasures,  he 
has  his  conversation,  or  citizenship,  in  heaven,  from 
whence  also  he  looks  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  will 
change  his  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like 
unto  his  glorious  body ;  hearkening  for  the  foot- 
steps of  his  beloved  Master,  who  is  coming  to  trans- 
port him  to  himself,  he  patiently  waits  till  his 
change  come.  These  are  blessed  fruits  of  grace, 
enjoyed  at  a  period  when  the  world  has  nothing  to 
offer  to  its  outworn  devotees.  It  is  the  privilege  of 
aged  Christians  to  expect  these  comforts,  which  are 
the  more  satisfying,  as  being  altogether  independent 
of  all  outward  circumstances  ;  they  may  be  pos- 
sessed, nay  they  have  been  ten  thousand  times  pos- 
sessed, by  the  poor,  the  infirm,  the  diseased,  the 
deaf,  the  blind ;  the  united  voice  of  hope  and  exult- 
ation, which  rises  from  the  tabernacles  of  aged  pil- 
grims is,  "  For  this  God  is  our  God  for  ever  and  ever, 
he  will  be  our  guide  even  unto  death."* 

♦Psalm  48:  14.  . 


(X)NSOLATION  IN  REGARD  TO  THE 
SAINTO  DEPARTED 


XYII 


WHEN  we  inspect  a  series  of  ancient  Christiar 
monuments,  as  for  example  in  Eome;  or,  in 
default  of  this,  when  we  examine  those  collections 
of  antiquaries  in  which  the  inscriptions  of  these 
monuments  are  exactly  edited,  we  are  struck  with  a 
remarkable  change  of  expression  which  has  taken 
place  during  the  lapse  of  ages.  The  later  epitaphs, 
as  is  well  known,  frequently  contain  the  words  no\v 
of  established  usage  among  Romanists,  "  Requiescat 
IN  PACE,"  (J\£ay  he  rest  in  peace !)  But  if  we  trace 
the  series  back  to  a  more  remote  and  purer  anti- 
quity, we  find  the  primitive  expression  to  be,  "  Re- 
QuiEscrr  IN  PACE,"  {He  doth  rest  in  peace.)  A  dif- 
ference which  is  startling,  suggestive,  and  full  of 
argument.  Primitive  Christianity  believed  the  de- 
parted to  be  already  in  repose.  And  we  can,  by 
means  of  authentic  marbles,  almost  lay  the  finger  on 
the  point  of  time  at  which  the  indicatory  and  asser- 
tory phrase.  He  rests^  was  transmuted  into  the  cor- 
rupt precatory  formula.  May  he  rest ! 

We  need  consolation  both  when  we  lay  beloved 
bodies  of  friends  or  brethren  in  the  grave,  and  when 
we  shudder  on  the  brink  of  our  own  dissolution.    In 


392  CONSOLATION. 

regard  to  both,  we  rest  with  complete  repose  of  soul 
on  the  declaration  of  the  Word,  that  believers  "  sleep 
in  Jesus." 

Before  proceeding  to  consider  this  doctrine  in  its 
positive  meaning,  we  find  it  necessary  to  remove  the 
grounds  of  two  portentous  errors ;  one  of  which  is 
the  familiar  tenet  of  popery,  and  the  other  a  kindred 
opinion,  that  the  human  spirit  lies  unconscious  from 
death  till  resurrection. 

There  is  a  communion  in  glory,  which  renewed 
souls  have  with  Christ  their  head,  partly  in  this 
world  and  partly  in  the  next.  Death  is  the  point  of 
transition  between  these  two  portions  of  the  new 
life.  They  are  very  unequal.  The  first  is  troublous, 
blemished,  changeful,  and  brief;  the  second  is  fixed, 
pure,  glorious,  and  eternal.  Yet  two  strange  things 
are  true  respecting  our  judgment  of  the  two.  First, 
we  are  most  taken  up,  in  thought  and  afi*ection,  by 
that  which  is  inferior,  short,  and  transient;  and, 
secondly,  the  point  at  which  we  pass  from  one  to  the 
other,  is  that  which  of  all  things  we  most  dread. 
We  are  about  to  contemplate  this  change  in  one  of 
its  aspects,  as  viewed  by  the  believer,  for  his  encou- 
ragement amidst  the  afflictions  of  life.  That  which 
buoys  up  his  soul  amidst  toils  and  privations,  is 
the  blessed  truth,  which  causes  him  to  count  afflic- 
tion nothing,  in  comparison  with  the  "  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 

The  doctrine  which  we  are  called  to  contemplate 
is,  that  when  the  soul  leaves  the  body  it  passes  at 
once  to  Christ,  to  perfection,  and  to  heaven,  thus  to 


THE  SLEEP   OP   THE   DEAD.  393 

abide  in  peace  and  glory  till  tlie  resurrection  The 
body,  we  admit,  is  left.  The  sentence  goes  into  exe- 
cution :  untotdust  shalt  thou  return.  After  our  skin, 
worms  shall  destroy  this  body.  It  has  been  the 
beloved  companion  and  useful  instrument ;  but  now 
it  passes  to  dissolution.  The  remains  of  those  whom 
we  love  are  sacred.  We  have  the  best  authority 
for  confiding  them  to  the  faithful  tomb,  with  due 
solemnity  and  tenderness.  But  we  are  not  left  to 
the  cheerless  dogma,  that  when  corruption  has  done 
its  work,  we  shall  behold  them  no  more ;  and  that 
the  parent,  the  sister,  or  the  son,  whom  we  have  laid 
in  the  earth,  shall  never  again  be  known  in  the 
body,  but  have  shared  the  lot  of  beasts.  The  gos- 
pel reveals  a  blessed  hope,  which  heathenism  could 
not  imagine,  and  which  the  dreams  of  enthusiasts 
and  the  cavils  of  atheists  cannot  take  away.  The 
bodies  of  Christ's  brethren  do  rest  in  their  graves 
till  the  resurrection.  That  union,  whereby  we  are 
members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones, 
still  endures.  They  are  still  his;  and  from  his 
heavenly  throne  he  watches  over  them.  They  are 
beautifully  said  to  be  asleep  in  him.  "  For  if  we 
believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them 
also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 
1  Thes.  4  :  14.  It  is  a  reviving  hope  for  those  who 
expect  soon  to  lay  aside  the  flesh,  and  a  consolation 
for  any  who  have  followed  their  friends  to  their 
burial.  Though  the  body  is  left,  it  is  not  for- 
saken. 

But  when  the  soul  leaves  the  body,  it  passci  im 


394  CONSOLATION. 

mediately  to  Christ.  Is  this  a  vain  speculation? 
Can  it  be  a  thing  of  indifference,  whether  at  my  last 
breath  I  enter  at  once  to  glory,  or  plunge  into  some 
unknown  condition  of  suspense  or  pain  ?  Would  it 
not  overcloud  our  dying  moment,  to  have  this  ques- 
tion unanswered  ?  Your  hearts  reply,  that  the  in- 
vestigation is  reasonable ;  and  it  is  answered  in  the 
Word.  He  who  is  absent  from  the  body  is  present 
with  the  Lord.  The  teaching  of  Scripture  is  so  ex- 
press on  this  point,  that  enlargement  would  be  un- 
necessary, if  it  had  not  been  for  erroneous  teachers, 
who  have  endeavoured  to  rob  the  saints  of  this 
part  of  their  inheritance,  and  to  postpone  the  begin- 
ning of  their  joys.  These  errors  may  be  reduced 
to  two,  which  it  will  be  profitable  to  hold  up  in 
contrast  with  the  divine  verity. 

I.  When  Christianity  began  to  grow  corrupt,  and 
the  ministers  of  Christ  assumed  to  be  priests,  a  dog- 
ma was  privily  brought  in,  plainly  heathen  in  its 
source,  that  souls  which  are  imperfect,  instead  of 
entering  heaven,  enter  some  intermediate  state  of 
further  probation,  where  they  are  tried  with  fire, 
punished  for  their  sins,  and  rendered  fit  for  heaven. 
This  is  known  by  the  invented  name  of  Purgatory. 
While  it  has  not  a  single  passage  of  Scripture  even 
speciously  in  its  behalf,  it  has  been  a  mine  of  wealth 
to  the  hierarchy.  It  has  brought  in  its  train  the  long 
retinue  of  prayers  and  masses  for  the  dead,  indul- 
gences, rich  oblatioDS,  testamentary  gifts,  and  fresh 
subjugation  to  Komish  tyranny.  In  upholding  theii 
doctrine,  the  Papists  have  gone  so  far  as  to  affirm, 


^  THE   SLEEP   OF   THE   DEAD.  395 

that  the  patriarclis  and  other  Old  Testament  saints 
were  not  received  into  heaven  at  their  death,  but 
were  retained  in  what  they  called  the  Limbus  of  the 
Fathers;  the  word  meaning  in  Latin  the  exterior 
border  of  a  flowing  robe  or  mantle.  Though  this  is 
distinct  in  their  mythology  from  Purgatory,  the 
same  principles  apply  to  both.  How  the  imagina- 
tions of  religionists  may  be  inflamed  by  such  teach- 
ings, we  may  learn  from  the  poetic  but  awful  pic- 
tures of  the  great  Italian,  Dante,  who  by  his  potent 
wand  conjures  before  our  horror-stricken  fancy  blind- 
ness, tears,  lamentations,  blood,  and  fire.  Travellers 
in  Italy  are  too  well  acquainted  with  the  horrible 
paintings  and  more  horrible  harangues,  whereby  an 
alms  is  begged  from  the  superstitious,  for  the  poor 
souls  in  Purgatory.  Turning  from  these  ravings  to 
the  truth,  we  find  the  Bible  teaching  that  the  souls 
of  the  patriarchs  and  other  saints  who  have  de- 
parted have  passed  immediately  into  a  state  of  hap- 
piness. This  is  proved  irrefragably  by  the  argument 
of  our  Lord  against  the  Sadducees.  Moses,  says 
he,  calleth  the  Lord  "the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the 
God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.  For  he  is  not  a 
God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living ;  for  all  live  unto 
him."  Luke  20  :  38.  It  is  proved  by  the  history  of 
the  rich  man  and  Lazarus.  Luke  16  :  19.  You  re- 
member the  case ;  it  is  never  said  to  be  a  parable ; 
and  if  a  parable,  it  teaches  truth.  The  beggar  died, 
and  was  carried  by  angels — not  into  purgatory,  not 
into  the  limhus  patrum — but  into  Abraham's  bosom, 
that  is,  into  the  joy  of  Abraham's  God.     The  rich 


396  CONSOLATION. 

man  also  died,  and  was  buried,  and  (not  in  purgatory, 
but)  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments. 
This  is  further  proved  by  the  words  of  our  dying 
8aviour  to  the  thief  on  the  cross  :  "  This  day  shalt 
thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise."  I  am  almost  ashamed 
to  rehearse  the  quibbles  by  which  this  passage  is 
evaded.  It  is  said,  for  example,  to  mean,  "  I  this 
day  say  unto  thee,  thou  shalt ;"  a  violent  perversion 
of  the  words,  which  is  not  favoured  by  a  single  an- 
cient version,  and  which,  robbing  our  Lord's  words 
of  all  their  emphasis,  represent  him  as  uttering  the 
most  useless  declaration.  His  gracious  reply  was 
occasioned  by  the  preceding  request  of  the  dying 
malefactor,  "  Lord,  remember  me  when  thou  comest 
into  thy  kingdom !"  It  is  said,  again,  that  by  Para- 
dise Christ  means  the  intermediate  place  of  the  pa- 
triarchs. But  is  it  not  the  uniform  method  of 
Scripture,  by  Paradise,  to  set  forth  the  highest  hea- 
ven? When  (2  Cor.  12  :  4)  Paul  tells  us  of  "one 
caught  up  to  the  third  heaven,"  he  instantly  adds, 
interpreting  himself,  "  How  that  he  was  caught  up 
into  paradise."  In  the  Apocalyptic  message  to  Ephe- 
sus  (2  :  '7)  it  is  said  to  the  victor  :  "  To  him  that  over- 
cometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which 
is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God."  Now  this  is 
plainly  parallel  with  the  promises  to  the  other  victors, 
as  (v.  10)  "I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life,"  (v.  28) 
"  I  will  give  him  the  morning-star ;"  (3  :  12)  "  I  will 
make  him  a  pillar  of  the  temple  of  my  God,  and  he 
shall  go  no  more  out."  This  is  proved,  also,  by  the 
hopes  which  cheered  the  ancients  amidst  long  jour- 


THE  SLEEP   OF  THE   DEAD.  89? 

neyings  and  toils,  of  a  speedy  admission  to  rest,  of  a 
city  having  foundations,  aad  of  respite  after  death. 
The  attempted  proof  of  a  purgatorial  state  from  the 
Scriptures  is  lamentably  defective.  The  very  diffi- 
cult place  in  Pet.  3  :  19,  concerning  Christ's  preach- 
ing to  spirits  in  prison,  is  quite  as  difficult  for  our 
adversaries  who  urge  it.  To  discuss  it  at  length 
would  exhaust  modern  patience:  suffice  it  to  say, 
"  The  meaning  of  the  text  appears  to  be,  that  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  influenced  Noah,  who  was  a 
'preacher  of  righteousness,'  to  warn  the  unhappy 
men,  whose  spirits  were  then,  and  still  are,  in  prison, 
of  the  danger  which  was  so  near  them,  while 
the  ark  was  preparing.  Now,  to  build  such  a  mo- 
mentous doctrine  as  that  of  purgatory  on  a  passage 
admitting  of  this  construction,  and  on  one  or  two 
others,  still  more  violently  tortured  for  the  purpose, 
shows  the  total  want  of  a  solid  foundation  for  the 
superstructure  which  is  erected.  It  may  also  be 
added,  that  even  the  passages  which  are  brought 
from  the  apocryphal  writings,  which  are  not  canoni- 
cal Scripture,  do  not  warrant  this  doctrine,  as  it 
is  held  and  taught  by  the  Church  of  Eome."  And 
let  us  thank  God  that  it  is  so ;  and  that  we  have  no 
Christian  reason  (when  we  stand  beside  a  dying 
friend)  to  suppose  that  his  departing  spirit  is  about 
to  enter  penal  fires,  and  the  sufferings  of  his  agony 
to  be  exchanged  for  ages,  years,  or  even  days,  of 
still  heaviei'  torment ;  no  reason  (on  our  own  bed 
of  death)  to  shudder  at  the  prospect  of  horrible  in 


398  CONSOLATION. 

carceration  and  fresh  conflicts.     No,  my  brethren, 
"  the  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death." 

II.  Leaving  this,  there  is  another  error,  which 
has  prevailed  among  Romanizing  Protestants,  a 
class  unhappily  increasing  day  by  day.  It  is  equally 
a  denial  of  our  doctrine,  for  it  maintains  that  the 
soul  sleeps  with  the  body,  from  death  to  the  resur- 
rection. Such  sleep  of  the  soul  is  an  anti-scriptural 
dream.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  soul  ever 
ceases  to  think,  or  that  it  can  so  cease,  without  losing 
its  identity,  and  ceasing  to  be  a  soul.  There  is  no 
proof,  that,  the  moment  after  death,  the  soul  shall 
not  exert  an  unwonted  elasticity  ;  or  that  the  body, 
though  an  instrument  here,  is  a  necessary  instru- 
ment. That  could  scarcely  be  denominated  an  ever- 
lasting life,  which  should  be  subject  to  so  direful  an 
interruption.  But  the  Scriptures  leave  us  no  doubt. 
The  passages  already  cited,  are  here  in  point.  The 
crucified  thief  passed  into  paradise.  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob  (not  yet  risen),  are  yet  alive,  and  live 
unto  God.  Such  is  the  condition  of  all  the  blessed, 
of  whom  Paul,  says  (Heb.  12  :  23),  "Ye  are  cojne," 
ye  are  now  come,  "  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect."  Ancient  prophecy  foresaw  the  same.  "  He 
shall  enter  into  peace  ;  they  shall  rest  in  their  beds, 
each  one  walking  in  his  uprightness."  Is.  57  :  2. 
The  body  rests:  the  soul  walks  in  uprightness. 
When  Paul  wrote  to  the  Philippians,  he  felt  that 
to  die  was  gain.  He  knew  not  which  to  choose; 
and  was  in  a  strait  betwixt  two ;  which  could  not 
have  been,  if  the  choice  had  been  between  labour 


THE   SLEEP   OF   THE   DEAD.  399 

aud  unconsciousness :  "  having  a  desire  to  depart, 
and  to  be  with  Christ ;"  to  be  with  Christ !  an  ex- 
pression, which  undoubtedly  means  more,  than  rest 
in  sleep,  or  even  joy  beyond  the  resurrection.  No, 
he  could  say  with  David  (Y3  :  24),  "  Thou  shalt 
guide  me  with  thy  counsel,  and  afterwards  receive 
me  to  glory."  And  when  he  felt  the  frailties  of  the 
present  state,  and  was  warned  of  speedy  dissolution, 
he  could  look  beyond  the  breaking  up  of  the  exist- 
ing fabric,  to  the  escape  into  an  abiding  city.  "  For 
we  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle 
were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  He 
longs  "  to  be  clothed  with  the  house  from  heaven." 
He  exidts  in  the  thought  (5  :  3)  that  he  "  shall  not 
be  found  naked."  More  strikingly  he  tells  what 
shall  immediately  supervene  on  death  (v.  4)  :  mor- 
tality shall  be  swallowed  up  of  life !  He  groans, 
that  "  being  at  home  in  the  body,"  he  is  "  absent 
from  the  Lord."  And  inasmuch  as  our  whole  ques- 
tion with  adversaries  is  concerning  the  state  of  the 
soul  when  unloosed  from  the  body ;  and  inasmuch 
as  they  affirm  that  this  is  a  state  of  unconsciousness, 
we  adduce  the  apostle  as  a  triumphant  witness, 
when  he  exclaims,  "  We  are  confident  and  willing 
rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body  and  present  with 
the  Lord."  Unless,  therefore,  these  terms  can  be 
shown  to  import  an  unconscious  slumber  until  the 
final  trump,  we  may  regard  the  doctrine  as  estab- 
^  lished,  that  when  the  soul  leaves  the  body  it  passes 
to  a  heaven  of  enjoyment. 


400  CONSOLATION. 

And  the  doctrine  is  most  reasonable.  Tlie  terics 
of  trial  and  of  suffering  is  over :  it  is  to  be  expect- 
ed tliat  tbe  time  of  joy  should  begin.  The  case  of 
each  soul  being,  as  all  Protestant  Christianity  con- 
fesses, unchangeably  settled,  it  is  proper  that  the  re- 
ward should  ensue ;  and  that  the  last  pang  should 
be  followed,  not  by  the  stupor  of  centuries,  but  by 
the  garden  of  pleasures :  that  Paul,  weary  of  labour, 
might  hope,  when  absent  from  the  body,  not  to  be 
happy  after  four  or  five  thousand  years,  but  to  be 
''  present  with  the  Lord."  It  is  consistent  with  the 
love,  the  intercession,  and  the  kingly  poAver  of  Him 
who  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  whose  longing 
is,  that  those  whom  the  Father  hath  given  him  may 
be  with  him,  to  behold  his  glory.  It  agrees  with 
the  spirit  of  the  holy  angels,  those  loving  ones,  who 
are  "  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for 
them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation,"  who  hover 
about  dying  beds  with  folded  hands,  and  who  spread 
their  seraphic  wings  to  carry  even  a  Lazarus  into 
Abraham's  bosom.  It  is  beautifully  accordant  with 
the  doctrine,  that  the  human  soul  is  entirely  inde- 
pendent in  its  actings  on  its  present  companion,  and 
may  exist  without  it  in  an  unembodied  state. 

Contemplate  the  escape  !  It  is  a  passing  to  per- 
fection. In  the  present  life,  we  acknowledge  that 
sanctification  is  incomplete.  But  now  the  trial  is  at 
an  end.  "  Then  shall  I  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake 
with  thy  likeness."  There  is  no  long  slumber  be- 
tween the  race  and  the  crown.  The  passage  is 
short.   To  be  dismissed  from  earth,  from  temptation, 


THE  SLEEP   OF  THE   DEAD.  401 

from  passion,  from  tlie  body,  and  from  sin,  is  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  that  greater  but  invisible  world,  upon  the 
verge  of  wbicb  we  are  continually  living.  It  is  to 
emerge  from  time  into  eternity.  It  is  to  close  the 
outward  eye  as  needless,  to  lose  sight  of  all  its  ob- 
jects, and  to  open  the  inward  eye  upon  the  world  oi 
spirits.  It  is  to  say  farewell  to  a  group  of  weeping 
friends,  and  bid  welcome  to  the  multitude  of  ran- 
somed souls.  It  is  to  leave  all  care,  and  pain,  and 
uncertainty,  and  sin  for  ever  behind  us. 

It  is  also  a  passing  into  glory.  God  is  there ! 
He  who  is  every  w^here  present,  unseen,  is  there 
present  to  the  lively  apprehension  of  the  redeemed. 
Christ  is  there !  And  the  longing  soul  finds  itself 
in  his  embrace.  The  breaking  up  of  the  tabernacle 
sometimes  reveals  glimpses  of  this  glory,  even  here 

The  soul's  poor  cottage,  shattered  and  decayed, 
Lets  in  new  light  through  chinks  that  time  has  made. 

The  conflict  has  ended.  How  else  can  we  explam 
the  words,  "  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory  ?" 
Eest,  indeed,  there  is,  but  rest  in  Christ's  bosom  of 
love,  and  on  his  throne  of  glory.  Heaven  is  ready 
for  them,  and,  by  grace,  they  are  ready  for  heaven. 
Contemplate  the  change  as  immediate.  God  has 
granted  this  blessed  hope  to  his  dying  child.  He 
does  not  summon  him  away  to  a  useless  inaction  of 
ages,  but  to  the  vision  of  himself,  to  be  with  him  in 
paradise,  to  be  present  with  the  Lord.  Heartily  do 
we  acknowledge  that  there  are  many  expressions  of 
Scripture  which  show  that  the  reward  of  the  right- 
26 


402  CONSOLATION. 

eous  is  not  complete  until  the  re-union  of  soul  and 
body  at  the  general  resurrection.  But  the  interval 
IS  not  only  painless,  but  is  conscious,  intelligent,  and 
joyful.  It  is  short,  when  measured  on  the  great 
scale  of  heaven.  These  separate  souls  are  even  now 
beloved;  joined  to  Christ;  recipients  of  his  Spirit; 
bringing  forth  fruit;  sitting  down  already  with 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  who  live  unto  that  God 
who  is  the  God  not  of  the  dead  but  of  the  living. 
And  when  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall 
be  raised,  the  triumph  shall  be  consummate.  We 
may  well  consent,  my  brethren,  to  leave  these  per- 
ishing bodies  in  the  grave,  with  such  an  expectation 
for  the  soul.  The  dust  is  sacred,  being  still  united 
to  Christ.  I  am  persuaded  that  not  even  death 
(Rom.  8  :  38)  "shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 
The  grave  is  sacred ;  it  is  perfumed  by  the  merits 
of  him  who  lay  three  days  and  three  nights  within 
its  vaults.  Those  expectant  remains  are  .  no  longer 
the  subjects  of  disease,  weariness,  and  pain.  "The 
sting  of  death  is  sin,"  and  it  is  no  more.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection  must  be  a  separate  topic ; 
but  even  here,  we  must  say,  that  disembodied  spirits 
wait  "  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of 
the  body."  And  if  they  cast  a  glance  at  the  ashes 
of  their  tomb,  they  do  it  in  remembrance  of  Him  who 
has  "  become  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept ;"  and 
in  lively  hope  of  the  hour  when  "  that  which  is  sown 
in  dishonour  shall  be  raised  in  glory." 

We  cannot  follow  the  departing  spirit ;  the  flight 


THE  SLEEP  OF  THE  DEAD.         403 

is  too  rapid,  and  it  is  into  a  world  all  unseen.  Yet 
as  we  stand  around  the  breathless,  cold,  and  stiffened 
corpse,  the  analogy  of  faith  suggests  a  shadow  of 
what  may  be  the  condition  of  the  ransomed  soul. 
The  snare  is  broken,  and  it  is  escaped !  The  fetters 
have  been  stricken  off  at  a  blow.  How  vast  the 
transition !  How  rapidly  is  the  earth,  with  all  its 
scenes,  left  behind  !  We  may  justly  suppose,  that 
the  blessed  spirit  finds  itself  surrounded  by  the 
instant  presence  of  God ;  yet  (as  his  unveiled  glory 
would  be  insufferable)  by  the  presence  of  God 
revealed  in  Christ.  Infinite  love  can  and  will  save 
the  poor,  trembling,  shrinking  soul,  newly  come  into 
the  sublimities  of  a  strange  world,  from  the  shock 
of  a  surprise,  which  otherwise  would  astound  or 
annihilate,  and  so  hold  back  the  face  of  that  throne, 
and  so  spread  a  cloud  over  it,  and  so  mitigate  its 
splendours,  that  the  frail  creature,  born  into  an  un- 
tried state,  shall  be  able  to  bear  it.  There  will 
indeed  be  the  surprise  of  discovery,  and  the  shock 
of  ecstasy,  but  he  who  hid  Moses  in  the  cleft  of  the 
rock,  and  spake  to  Elijah  in  the  still  small  voice,  will 
doubtless  address  his  ransomed  one  in  the  gentlest 
whisper  of  redeeming  love.  Throughout  a  weari- 
some lifetime  the  cry  of  the  church  has  been,  "  We 
would  see  Jesus!"  now  the  wish  is  gratified,  now 
the  vail  is  withdrawn,  now  the  separate  spirit  is 
present  with  the  Lord.  The  prayers  of  a  lifetime 
are  answered,  and  the  object  of  a  life-long  affection 
is  embraced.  And  O,  what  an  escape  and  tran- 
sition, from  dying  anguish  to  a  throne !     How  shall 


404  COJ^SOLATION. 

we  dare  to  give  utterance  to  sentiments,  whicli  here 
we  can  scarcely  imagine  ! 

"  And  is  this  heav'n  ?  and  am  I  there  ? 

How  short  the  road  I  how  swift  the  flight  1 
I  am  all  life,  all  eye,  all  ear ; 
Jesus  is  here — my  soul's  delight. 

Is  this  the  heav'nly  friend  who  huug 

In  blood  and  anguish  on  the  tree  ? 
Whom  Paul  proclaimed,  whom  David  sung  ? 

Who  died  for  them,  who  died  for  me  ? 

Hail  thou  fair  offspring  of  my  God  I 

Thou  first-born  image  of  his  face  I 
Thy  death  procured  this  blest  abode, 

Thy  vital  beams  adorn  the  place  I 

Lo !  he  "presents  me  at  the  throne, 

All  spotless  there  the  Godhead  reigns. 
Sublime  and  peaceful  through  the  Son ; 

Awake  my  voice,  in  heavenly  strains  I" 

"The  place  of  burial,"  says  Chrysostom,  '*is 
called  a  cemetery  (that  is,  a  dormitory),  a  place  of 
slumber,  to  teach  you  that  they  who  have  departed 
are  not  dead,  but  have  lain  down  to  sleep."  The 
ancient  Pagans  sometimes  employed  the  same  figure, 
but  with  the  adjunct  of  a  terrible  epithet ;  for  they 
take  care  to  call  it  a  "  perpetual,"  or  an  "  everlast- 
ing "  sleep.  Thus,  in  one  of  the  idyls  of  Moschus, 
the  Greek  poet,  after  saying  that  plants  cut  down 
by  the  winter,  and  seeming  to  die,  yet  revive  in  the 
spring,  subjoins : 

''  But  we,  or  great,  or  wise,  or  brave, 
Once  dead  and  silent  in  the  grave. 
Senseless  remain ;  one  rest  we  keep- 
One  long,  eternal,  unawaken'd  sleep." 


THE   SLEEP   OF  THE   BEAD.  405 

And  Catullus, 

"  The  sun  that  sets,  again  will  rise, 
And  give  the  day,  and  gild  the  skies; 
But  when  we  lose  our  little  light, 
"We  sleep  in  everlasting  night."* 

In  agreement  with  wliicli  heathen  darkness,  the  re- 
volutionary philosophers  engraved  over  their  famous 
burying-places,  the  inhuman  blasphemy,  "  Death  is  an 
eternal  sleep."  It  would  have  been  a  fit  inscription  for 
a  field  where  the  carcasses  of  brutes  are  cast :  but  ob- 
serve, my  brethren,  it  is  only  of  man  that  the  term  is 
used ;  it  is  man  only  who,  dying,  falls  asleep.  And  the 
beautiful  phrase  is  too  often  repeated  in  the  Scriptures 
to  be  set  aside  as  a  casual  metaphor.  Hebrew  wor- 
thies are  said  to  sleep  with  their  fathers.  The 
Psalmist,  filled  with  anticipations  of  awakening, 
cries  :  "  Then  shall  I  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake  with 
thy  likeness."  But,  as  might  be  expected,  the  term 
is  most  appropriate  to  the  New  Testament.  It  was 
when  Christ  died,  and  the  vail  of  the  temple  was  rent, 
that  "  many  bodies  of  the  saints  which  slept  arose." 
"  Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepeth,"  said  our  benignant 
Redeemer ;  "  but  I  go  that  I  may  awake  him  out  of 
sleep."  And  even  amidst  the  violent  agonies  of  the 
first  martyrdom,  the  beloved  Stephen,  already  be- 
holding heaven  opened,  "  fell  asleep."  It  seems  to 
have  become  the  usual  word  among  the  ancient 
Christians  for  departure  from  this  life.  For,  speak- 
ing of  the  forty  days  of  Christ's  tabernacling  here, 
after  the  resurrection,   Paul  says,  concerning  the 

*  Nox  est  perpetua  una  dormienda. 


406  CONSOLATION. 

five  hundred  witnesses :  "  Of  wliom  the  greater  part 
remain  unto  this  present ;  but  some  are  fallen  asleep." 
Nor  could  human  language  furnish  us  a  more  sweet 
and  tranquillizing  emblem.  It  invests  the  dying 
form  with  a  promise  of  restitution ;  enlightens  the 
darkened  chamber ;  hangs  a  garland  upon  the  se- 
pulchre ;  and  draws  gentle  curtains  around  the 
couch  of  the  beloved.  Blessed  be  God  for  this 
new  aspect  of  what  we  thought  our  enemy ! 

1.  The  emblem  is  natural,  and  is  derived  from  the 
obvious  resemblance.  This  is  my  first  observation. 
In  ancient  mythology,  sleep  was  the  brother  of 
death.  The  first  death  was  probably  thought  a 
sleep ;  as  the  first  sleep,  according  to  Milton,  was 
mistaken  for  death.  I  stand  by  the  side  of  an  in- 
fant, and  behold  it  in  quiet  slumber.  What  on 
earth  can  be  more  lovely?  The  eyes  are  closed; 
the  senses  are  locked  up ;  the  great  external  world  is 
shut  out.  All  is  stillness  and  repose.  We  look 
and  wonder,  but  feel  no  pain,  because  we  expect  a 
resurrection  from  this  slumber.  In  like  manner,  I 
stand  by  the  couch  where  a  beloved  friend  has 
closed  his  eyes.  The  doors  of  sense  are  shut ;  the 
outer  world  is  excluded ;  but  the  greater,  lovelier, 
more  awful  inner  world  is  there.  The  marble  brow ; 
the  serene,  unmoving  features  ;  the  settled  smile  of 
lips  which  were  late  so  eloquent ;  all  speak  of  deep 
slumber.  But  Christianity  tells  me  to  dismiss  my 
fears  ;  for  Jesus  comes  to  awake  him  out  of  sleep. 

The  transition  into  the  two  states,  under  favour 
able  circumstances,  is  the  same.     In  blessed  souls  it 


THE  SLEEP  OF  THE  DEAD.         40? 

IS  "  a  gentle  wafting  to  eternal  life."  We  make  too 
mucli  of  the  mere  article  of  dying,  and  often  over- 
rate its  pangs.  Sometimes,  I  know,  tkey  are  dread- 
ful, but  even  tken  they  are  brief.  And  in  a  multi- 
tude of  cases,  no  doubt,  the  dying  person  suffers 
less  than  he  has  endured  many  times  before  ;  while 
Ai  repeated  joyful  instances  it  is  only  a  closing  of  the 
eyes  for  sleep.  Let  us  be  thankful  when  our  friends 
are  spared  all  extreme  anguish  on  their  dying  beds. 
The  resemblance,  therefore,  is  undeniable ;  and  it  is 
good  to  contemplate  the  sacred  sleep. 

2.  Sleep  comes  at  the  close  of  the  day  To  many 
a  soul  this  is  a  pregnant  consideration  ;  for  they  are 
weary  of  task-work  and  of  working  hours.  "Is 
there  not  an  appointed  time  to  man  upon  earth  ?  are 
not  his  days  also  like  the  days  of  a  hireling  ?  as  a  ser- 
vant earnestly  desireth  the  shadow,  and  as  a  hireling 
looketh  for  the  reward  of  his  labour."  When  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day  are  over,  then  comes 
the  season  of  repose.  "  Man  goeth  forth  unto  his 
work  and  to  his  labour  until  the  evening."  In  that 
evening  God  gives  him  exemption.  It  is  implied  in 
this,  that  the  world's  business  is  over.  There  is 
nothing  more  impressive  than  to  stand  amidst  a 
great  city  at  dead  of  night,  when  labour  rests, 

And  all  that  mighty  heart  is  lying  still ! 

Thus  is  it  when  life's  day  is  over.  Of  what  pertains 
to  this  present  time,  no  more  can  be  done.  The 
season  of  trial  and  of  labour  for  our  fellows  is  over ; 
it  is  the  hour  of  sleep.    The  time  of  study,  for  this 


408  CONSOLATION. 

life,  is  over ;  the  time  of  eartMy  plans ;  the  time  of 
bold  adventure  ;  it  is  the  hour  of  sleep.  "  Whatso- 
ever thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might ; 
for  there  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor 
wisdom,  in  the  grave,  whither  thou  goest."  And 
yet  that  grave  is  not  so  much  a  tomb  as  a  resting- 
place — a  cemetery.  How  much  more  lovely  and 
more  Christian  would  our  grave-yards  be  if  they 
had  more  of  heaven  and  less  of  earth ;  more  of  rest 
in  that  blessed  sleep,  and  less  of  the  restless  pursuit 
of  human  glory ;  more  of  our  oneness  in  Christ,  and 
less  of  our  earthly  caste  and  separation ! 

"  A  scene  sequestered  from  the  haunts  of  men ; 
The  loveliest  nook  of  all  that  lovely  glen, 
Where  weary  pilgrims  found  their  last  repose : 
The  little  heaps  were  ranged  in  comely  rows, 
"With  walks  between,  by  friends  and  kindred  trod, 
Who  dressed  with  duteous  hands  each  hallow'd  sod : 
No  sculptur'd  monument  was  taught  to  breath© 
His  praises  whom  the  worm  devoured  beneath : 
The  high,  the  low,  the  mighty  and  the  fair. 
Equal  in  death,  were  undistinguished  there. 
To  some  warm  heart,  the  poorest  dust  was  dear ; 
For  some  kind  eye,  the  meanest  claimed  a  tear. 
'Twas  not  a  scene  for  grief  to  nourish  care ; 
It  breath'd  of  hope,  and  moved  the  heart  to  prayer." 

In  that  sleep  there  is  an  end  of  human  pains  to 
the  children  of  God.  "  There  the  wicked  cease  from 
ti'oubling,  and  there  the  weary  be  at  rest;  there 
the  prisoners  rest  together ;  they  hear  not  the  voice 
of  the  oppressor.  The  small  and  great  are  there, 
and  the  servant  is  free  from  his  master."  The  clo- 
sing eye  loses  sight  for  ever  of  every  annoyance  of 


TH  K  SLEEP  OF  THE  DEAD.  409 

this  life.  Perhaps,  my  brethren,  you  have  never 
duly  considered  this  important  truth,  that  all  the 
prayers  of  the  believer  in  regard  to  himself  are 
answered  at  once  when  he  falls  asleep.  The  angel 
of  death  breaks  all  chains,  delivers  from  all  enemies, 
repairs  all  losses,  wipes  away  all  sins,  and  accom- 
plishes all  wishes,  even  of  a  lifetime — and  all  this  at 
one  moment.  These  are  sweet  slumbers,  "  after  life's 
fitful  fever." 

3.  Sleep  is  a  temporary  state ;  an  interval  be- 
t\teen  important  periods ;  it  separates  day  from  day. 
So  the  repose  of  death,  far  from  the  notion  of  the 
atheist,  is  a  season  of  suspense — a  preparation — a 
momentary  hiding,  before  great  events.  The  de- 
parted object  of  your  attachment,  who  now  "  draws 
the  sweet  infant  breath  of  gentle  sleep,"  is  but  pre- 
paring for  a  wonderful  awaking  at  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet.  Not  that  it  is  unconscious,  not  that  it  is 
inactive,  not  that  the  soul  is  gone ;  this  were  to  con- 
tradict all  the  analogy ;  this  were  proper  death,  not 
sleep.  "  To  depart"  is  "  to  be  with  Christ."  While 
we  are  in  this  world,  "  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are 
absent  from  the  Lord :"  but  to  go  into  this  sleep,  is 
'  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with 

the  Lord."    Whence  I  add, 

4.  The  dying  believer  sleeps  in  Jesus.  How  in- 
comparably refreshing  the  language  of  the  Apostle 
Paul,  1  Cor.  15  :  18,  "they  which  are  fallen  asleep  in 
Christ !"  What  a  fragrance  exhales  from  the  sacred 
urn !  How  does  it  embalm  the  very  bodies  of  those 
whom  we  have  given  in  charge  to  Christ !     They 


410  CONSOLATION. 

sleep  in  Jesus.  It  is  in  his  arms  they  have  fainted 
away,  and  he  holds,  sustains,  and  embraces  them. 
This,  which  seemed  a  calamity,  is  foreseen  and  con- 
templated in  the  covenant.  Their  very  dying  has. 
a  connection  with  the  blessed  Saviour,  for  it  is  joined 
to  his  dying.  The  term  may  have  had  a  primary 
reference  to  the  martyrs,  who  laid  down  their  lives 
for  Christ's  sake,  but  was  certainly  intended  to  in- 
clude likewise  all  who  die  in  union  with  him. 
JfVhen  they  close  their  eyes  in  holy  slumber,  they 
may  well  be  said  to  fall  asleep  in  Christ ;  for 

(1.)  They  believe  in  him.  It  is  of  believers  that 
we  have  been  speaking.  They  are  disciples ;  they 
have  lived  as  such,  and  as  such  they  die  ;  if  p'er- 
mitted  to  enjoy  any  season  of  tranquil  reflection  and 
discourse  before  they  depart,  they  gather  up  their 
powers  and  declare  their  confidence  in  the  divine 
revelation  of  truth.  In  this  honest  moment,  they 
show  how  sincere  has  been  their  conviction.  A 
skeptical  frame,  or  a  wavering  half-belief,  would  be 
but  a  spider's  thread,  at  such  an  hour.  Now  the 
soul  turns  to  its  refuge,  now  it  must  hang  by  its 
grand  support,  now  it  must  forget  all  that  is  du- 
bious, all  that  is  secondary,  all  things  that  are 
earthly,  all  things  but  one — and  that  is  Christ. 
Now  it  is,  that  the  greatness  of  Christianity  is  re- 
vealed, when  a  man  is  brought  to  the  great  emer- 
gency, and  must  die  for  it,  by  it,  in  it.  Let  the 
infidel  bring  forth  his  strong  reasons ;  let  him  show 
any  like  confidence  in  such  an  hour.  Have  you 
known  any  examples  of  it  ?     Have  you  heard  any 


THE  SLEEP   OF  THE  DEAD.  411 

unbeliever  on  his  dying  bed  send  out  for  his  fellow- 
doubters  or  fellow-deniers,  to  listen  to  his  final  con- 
fession of  lies,  or  to  pillow  his  head  in  the  sinking 
moment  ?  Have  you  seen  them  gathering  around 
their  comrade,  and  trying  to  pluck  the  dart  from 
the  stricken  deer  ?  On  the  other  hand,  how  often 
have  we  stood  by  the  bed  of  death,  when  the  tran- 
quil believer  has  said,  "  See  in  what  peace  a  Christian 
c.a!ft  die ! "  and  when,  with  failing  but  unwavering 
lips,  he  has  cried,  "  I  know  whom  I  have  believed, 
and  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  com- 
mitted unto  him  against  that  day."  Such  is  faith  in 
these  extremities :  they  believe  in  Jesus. 

(2.)  But  they  also  hope  in  Him.  "  The  wicked 
is  driven  away  in  his  wickedness,  but  the  righteous 
hath  hope  in  his  death."  From  this  moment  of 
dying,  he  looks  forward  ;  his  blessedness  is  to  come. 
During  all  his  religious  course,  this  has  been  his 
discipline  and  his  habit,  and  has  distinguished  him 
from  the  men  of  this  world.  His  "  citizenship,"  his 
polity,  has  been  in  heaven  ;  he  has  lived  perpetually 
under  the  impression,  that  he  belonged  to  another, 
an  unseen  state.  He  has  conducted  all  his  mental 
progress  with  a  direct  view  to  this,  and  has  had 
his  eye  fixed  on  a  point,  far  beyond,  at  which  all  his 
problems  shall  be  solved,  and  the  cup  of  his  know- 
ledge made  to  run  over.  He  has  lived  in  this  world, 
as  not  of  it,  exercising  himself  to  be  pure  in  heart, 
that  so  he  might  see  God  ;  a  vision,  in  which  he  has 
placed  his  heaven.  And  his  delighted  expectation 
of  this  has  been  founded  on  the  intervention  of  the 


1:12  CONSOLATION. 

re^^ealing  Mediator,  the  Word,  by  whom  we  draw 
near  to  the  Father.  Conscious  that  he  has  joined  him- 
self to  Christ,  he  admits  the  high  persuasion  of  heir- 
ship, and  such  hope  at  times  becomes  assurance. 
Especially  in  the  dying  chamber,  this  hope  in  Christ, 
which  during  the  glare  of  day,  and  the  din  of  busi- 
ness, has  lived  apart,  with  folded  wings,  a  silent 
unseen  dove,  having  arrived  at  its  proper  moment, 
comes  forth,  spreads  its  wings,  and  soars  into  the 
brightest  heaven.  The  eye  which  is  closing  on  one 
world,  is  opening  on  another,  in  which  its  principal 
object  is  one,  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world.     Thus  he  hopes  in  Christ ;  and 

(3.)  He  triumphs  in  him. 

The  term  does  not  imply  noise,  transport,  or 
outcry.  The  ocean  of  thought  may  be  deep  while 
its  surface  is  glassy.  The  silent  language  of  an  eye 
full  of  heaven  is  more  than  volumes  of  exclamation. 
But  God  does,  beyond  question,  reveal  himself  in 
extraordinary  supports,  at  such  seasons,  and  some- 
times condescends  to  open  the  very  windows  of 
heaven,  and  give  light  from  the  inmost  sanctuary ; 
so  that  the  child  of  grace  is  not  merely  willing  to 
die,  but  joyfully  prepared  to  enter  into  his  chief  joy, 
overlooking  and  overleaping  all  the  intervening 
pains  of  dissolution,  and  the  darkness  of  burial,  and 
exulting  in  the  cry,  "  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting ! 
O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory !" 

But  whether  such  graces  be  vouchsafed  or  not, 
and  whether  the  soul  departs  amidst  such  visible 


THE   SLEEP   OF   THE   DEAD.  413 

triumph  or  not,  lie  who  dies  a  Christian  sleeps  in 
Jesus. 

5.  Sleep  is  a  state  from  which  there  is  awaken- 
ing. Here  is  the  glorious  point  of  the  analogy.  As 
the  mother  hushes,  and  embosoms,  and  cradles  her 
little  one,  she  awaits  the  unsealing  of  the  eye,  and 
the  unbinding  of  the  fettered  limbs,  and  the  resolu- 
tion of  all  its  features  in  a  wakeful  smile  of  love. 
And  just  as  truly,  when  we  take  our  last  look  of 
features  which  we  have  seen  instinct  with  the  varied 
spirit  of  a  thousand  sentiments,  and  on  head,  and 
hands,  yea,  and  heart,  which  seemed  never  long  asleep 
here,  we  close  that  coffin-lid  in  sure  and  certain  hope 
of  blessed  resurrection.  Away  with  the  cold  inven- 
tions which  would  summon  me  to  bid  an  eternal 
farewell  even  to  the  body,  which  was  all  allied  to 
soul,  and  was  its  chosen  exponent;  that  temple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  he  who  created  it  can  with 
infinite  ease  create  anew.  Away  with  the  prostitut- 
ed learning  of  those  who  spend  all  their  lucubra- 
tions in  robbing  us  of  cherished  hopes.  It  is  because 
this  nighfc  is  to  have  a  morning,  because  this  slum- 
ber is  to  be  broken,  that  we  are  comforted.  It  is 
the  return  of  Christ  in  his  glory  which  is  the  basis 
of  our  expectation.  For  what  says  the  apostle  ?  "I 
would  not  have  you  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning 
them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even  as 
others  which  have  no  hope.  For  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which 
sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  Him."  When 
Christ  the  Lord  shall  appear,  then  shall  they  also 


414  CONSOLATION. 

appear  witli  Mm  in  glory.  That  will  be  the  day  of 
blessed  restitution,  "  when  he  shall  come  to  be  glo- 
rified in  his  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all  them 
that  believe."  They  are  now  with  Christ ;  they  are 
this  moment  at  home  with  the  Lord.  They  shall  still 
be  with  him  w^hen  he  shall  come  in  triumph.  Mean- 
while his  voice  is  heard  among  the  tombs,  saying,  "  I 
am  the  resurrection  and  the  life.  He  that  belie veth 
in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live : 
And  whosoever  liveth  and  belie  veth  in  me  shall . 
never  die." 

Faith  looks  forward  to  the  transcendant  glory 
which,  first  enveloping  in  its  cloud  of  light  Christ, 
the  head,  shall  next  enclose  and  transfigure  those 
who  are  Christ's  at  his  comiug;  when  God  the 
Almighty  Father  shall  bring  into  the  burning  focus 
of  universal  observation,  not  the  Master  only,  but 
all  who  have  loved  and  followed  him;  and  the 
beams  of  that  appearance  shall  be  reflected  from 
the  central  light  on  all  the  circle  and  retinue  of 
attendant  saints ;  for  they  that  are  in  their  graves 
shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God ;  and  "  them 
that  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 

Over  the  grave  of  those  of  God's  people  whom 
we  have  loved,  a  watchful  angel  seems  to  stand  in 
silent  waiting ;  his  awful  hand  ready  upon  the  seal 
of  the  sepulchre,  to  enlarge  from  all  bonds,  at  the 
appointed  moment,  those  who  shall  have  died  in 
the  faith.  This  may  compose  our  minds  amidst  the 
sudden  agitations  of  a  violent  bereavement;  stay 
the  flood  of  our  tears,  when  those  we  most  loved  are 


THE   SLEEP   OF   THE   DEAD.  415 

carried  out  of  our  sight ;  and  kindle  hope  amidst 
the  darkest  sorrow.  This  may  encourage  our  belief, 
that  when  genius,  and  talent,  and  learning,  and 
piety,  are  removed  from  the  church  below,  they 
shall  reappear  in  fresh  beauty  and  enlarged  capaci- 
ties, in  the  church  above.  This  may  teach  us,  when 
friends  and  companions  are  smitten  down  beside  us, 
in  the  midst  of  their  labours  and  researches,  to  look 
more  at  what  is  yet  to  come. 

If  death  is  a  sleep,  and  if  there  is  an  awakening 
out  of  this  sleep,  then  we  may  with  confidence  com- 
mit their  bodies  to  the  grave.  Let  us  look  back  in 
thought,  to  the  great  number  whom  we  have  con- 
signed to  this  sure  repose.  Few  are  there  among  us, 
who  have  not  some  Christian  friends  over  whom  to 
shed  the  tear.  They  sleep,  but  it  is  to  awake  again. 
God  hath  so  promised,  and  he  is  faithful.  Not  only 
their  souls  are  safe,  but  their  very  bodies  shall  be 
preserved.  How  precious  is  that  doctrine  of  resur- 
rection which  Paul  spreads  forth  at  length  in  the 
fifteenth  chapter  of  the  first  epistle  to  the  Corin- 
thians !  There  we  learn  that  the  bodies  of  believers 
are  lost,  only  in  the  sense  in  which  seed  is  lost,  which 
we  cast  into  the  ground.  It  returns  to  dust ;  but 
the  day  is  coming  when  it  shall  be  raised  and  glori- 
fied. It  is  the  day  when  our  Lord  shall  bring  with 
him  all  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus.  They  are  as  safe 
as  the  very  angels.  Their  bodies  in  the  tomb,  their 
souls  in  paradise.  This  casts  a  ray  of  holy  sunshine 
over  the  green  turf  which  swells  above  a  father, 
a  brother,  or  a  child.      Life  and  immortality  are 


416  C0NS0LATI0I4. 

brought  to  light  by  the  gospel.  Infidelity  has  no 
such  promises.  As  to  the  body,  it  gives  that  up  to 
corruption.  As  to  the  soul,  it  can  at  best  only  sur- 
mise its  immortality.  The  greatest  philosopher 
looks  trembling  and  hesitating  into  the  gulf  of  futu- 
rity :  while  the  humblest,  yea  (in  other  things)  the 
most  ignorant  Christian  widow,  or  Christian  child, 
has  an  unbroken  confidence  on  the  assurance  of  Him 
who  cannot  lie,  that  there  shall  be  a  reunion  with 
blessed  spirits  gone  before,  in  that  world  which  by 
a  sublime  attraction  is  drawing  to  itself  the  pure 
and  the  lovely  of  all  ages.  So  much  is  a  simple  faith 
in  the  gospel  above  all  philosophy  of  man. 

In  the  same  blessed  faith  we  may  prepare  for 
laying  our  own  bodies  in  the  grave.  For,  beloved 
brethren,  we  must  soon  die.  Some  avoid  the 
thought,  and  every  thing  which  leads  to  it.  Some, 
with  a  cowardly  superstition,  dread  even  the  making 
of  a  will,  lest  it  should  hasten  the  event.  But  do 
what  we  may,  it  is  hastening  on ;  time,  with  mighty 
pinions,  is  carrying  us  towards  the  inevitable  doom. 
There  is  r.o  discharge  in  that  war ;  and  the  true 
believer  has  no  reason  to  dread  the  thought.  He 
would  not  live  here  always.  This  is  not  his  rest ; 
this  is  not  his  continuing  city ;  his  citizenship  is  in 
heaven ;  his  name  is  registered  there.  And  though 
on  his  way  thither  he  must  needs  pass  through  the 
strait  of  death ;  it  is  part  of  God's  teaching  to  re- 
move his  fear  of  this  last  enemy.  The  grave  loses 
its  chill,  to  one  who  has  beheld  Christ's  sacred 
body  descending  into  it.     And  as  that  sacred  body 


THE  SLEEP  OF  THE  BEAD.  417 

arose,  so  we  know  that  the  bodies  of  believers  shall 
arise ;  and  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God 
bring  with  him.  God  will  bring  us,  with  Christ,  to 
meet  such  as  shall  be  caught  up  from  the  earth 
without  dying.  In  preparing  for  death  (and  it  is 
wise  to  prepare),  our  thoughts  should  not  dwell  long 
on  this  transient  and  comparatively  unimportant 
period  of  the  grave.  What  is  the  grave  in  the  scale 
of  eternity  ?  A  momentary  sleep ;  and  them  that 
sleep  Christ  will  awaken ;  we  shall  lie  there  but  a 
little  while.     That  which  is  beyond  is  glorious. 

3.  That  will  be  a  glorious  meeting  with  Jesus 
and  his  awakened  saints.  All  earthly  things  ought 
to  fade  in  the  comparison.  It  ought  to  be  much  in 
our  thoughts.  Our  contemplations  ought  to  over- 
leap intervening  trifles.  God  has  made  us  suscepti- 
ble of  exquisite  social  affections,  and  these  are  not  lim- 
ited to  this  world.  They  will  be  expanded,  satisfied 
and  glorified,  in  the  world  to  come.  There  shall  be 
gathered  all  those  holy  and  redeemed  souls  whom 
Christ  shall  bring  with  him.  New  acquaintance- 
ships shall  then  begin,  but,  unlike  those  of  this 
world,  shall  never  end.  Ties  are  often  created  here 
only  to  be  sundered :  there,  there  shall  be  no  sunder- 
ings.  There  is  no  reason  known  to  us  why  all 
Christ's  people,  of  all  ages,  may  not  learn  to  know 
one  another  during  the  lapse  of  a  glorious  eternity. 
Why  not  ?  Why  should  we  not,  as  Dr.  Watts  beau- 
tifully represents  it  in  his  sermons  on  Death,  be  in- 
troduced, as  a  pai-t  of  our  happiness,  to  all  those 
who  have  believed  and  been  saved,  from  Abel  down- 
27 


418  CONSOLATION. 

wards ;  all  patriarchs,  psalmists,  holy  kings,  prophets^ 
apostles,  martyrs,  confessors,  reformers,  missionaries, 
philanthropists,  sufferers ;  reading  in  the  history  of 
each  the  wonderful  way  in  which  Divine  Sovereign 
Love  works  out  its  problem ;  and  finding  new  cause 
to  sing  loudly  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  that 
grace,  wherein  all  are  accepted  in  the  Beloved  ?  I 
love  not  those  visionary  views  of  heavenly  enjoy- 
ment which  reduce  all  to  a  vapour  or  a  dream.  The 
Scriptures  teach  otherwise,  and  lead  us  to  expect  a 
state  in  which  our  rational  human  faculties  and  pro- 
pensities shall  be  sanctified,  but  not  exterminated ; 
and  in^which  we  shall  still  be  capable  of  recogni- 
tion, of  converse,  of  mutual  instruction,  mutual  love, 
and  resulting  peace  and  joy.  And  that  which  shall 
be  so  innocent  and  so  rapturous  in  the  possession  we 
may  look  forward  to  with  hope  ;  distinctly  present- 
ing to  ourselves  the  time  w^hen  Jesus  shall  gather 
together  in  one  all  the  people  of  God,  from. among 
all  nations.  And  their  number  will  be  great.  For 
all  that  I  know,  the  world  may  stand  thousands  of 
years  yet ;  and  during  that  period  the  conquests  of 
Christianity  will  probably  be  unexampled.  From 
the  rich  harvests  of  all  the  continents,  God  will  fur- 
nish for  himself  abundant  glory.  And  in  meeting 
with  those  who  shall  be  with  Christ,  we  shall  meet 
with  the  glory  of  all  lands  and  all  ages.  It  w^ould  be 
narrow  and  insufficient  to  confine  our  views  to  those 
only  who  are  of  our  own  kindred.  In  that  day  we 
shall  be  kindred  with  the  nations  of  them  that  are 


THE  SLEEP   OF  THE  DEAD.  419 

saved,  through  Him  after  whom  the  whole  family^ 
both  in  heaven  and  earth,  is  named. 

But  the  doctrine  lifts  our  expectations  to  a  meet- 
ing not  only  with  all  saints,  but  with  the  King  of 
all  saints.  "  God  will  bring  with  Him " — with 
Christ.  It  is  the  connection  with  him  that  gives  the 
safety  and  the  glory.  They  died  with  him ;  they 
rose  with  him ;  they  suffered  with  him ;  they  shall 
be  glorified  with  him.  The  wish  of  all  believers  in 
this  world  has  been :  We  would  see  Jesus !  Then 
they  shall  see  him  surrounded  by  all  who  have 
loved  him.  "We  know  not  what  we  shall  be  ;  but 
we  know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  This  is  the 
apostle  John's  idea  of  heaven,  "  We  shall  see  him  as 
he  is."  This  will  be  enough.  Here  we  have  seen 
by  glimpses,  cloudily,  in  an  enigma,  "through  a 
glass  darkly  ;"  but  then,  clearly,  nearly,  fully,  "  face 
to  face."  And  the  object  so  seen  is  of  all  in  the 
universe  the  most  worthy  of  being  contemplated. 
God  shines  in  Him.  "  In  him  dwelleth  all  the  ful- 
ness of  the  Godhead  bodiiy."  To  see  him,  in  the 
fulness  of  his  unveiled  excellence,  will  be  a  celestial 
pleasure,  well  worth  dying  for. 

What  serious  self-examination  ought  there  tc 
be,  to  discover  whether  we  are  really  of  the  num 
of  those  whom  God  will  bring  with  Christ.  Some- 
thing has  already  been  said  as  to  their  character. 
It  remains  for  us  to  apply  these  truths  to  ourselves. 
Not  all  that  die  shall  be  so  privileged;  not  aU 
that  rise,  shall  rise  to  glory,  but  some  to  shame 


420  CONSOLATION. 

and  everlasting  contempt.  Some  shall  see  him,  only  to 
hear  him  say,  Depart,  accursed !  Not  all  that  have 
sat  down  at  the  Lord's  table,  and  enrolled  their 
names  among  his  followers,  shall  thereby  obtain 
inheritance ;  for  to  some  who  knock  he  shall  say, 
"  I  never  knew  you ! "  Not  all  that  die,  shall  sleep 
in  Jesus.  Come  then,  O  my  reader,  with  haste,  and 
with  deep  solemnity,  to  the  inquiry,  whether  indeed 
you  have  any  title  to  indulge  this  pleasing  antici- 
pation. On  what  is  it  founded  ?  On  your  having 
done  no  harm — on  your  innocence — on  your  having 
done  as  well  as  you  could — on  your  baptism — on 
your  communion  ?  Alas !  you  have  already  pro- 
nounced judgment  against  yourself!  These  pleas 
will  not  abide  the  day  of  his  coming  ?  Have  you 
seen  yourself  to  be  a  sinful,  guilty,  helpless,  ruined 
creature  ?  and  have  you  justified  the  law  which  con- 
demns you?  Have  you  despaired  of  all  help  in 
yourself?  Have  you  believed  the  record,  that 
God  is  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself? 
And  so  believing,  have  you  accepted  his  free  and 
sovereign  promise,  and  cast  yourself  on  his  faithful 
and  almighty  arm  ?  Do  you  perceive  in  yourself 
any  marks  of  the  new  creature  ?  Have  old  things 
passed  away  ?  Have  all  things  become  new  ?  Are 
you  striving  to  Hve  a  new  life,  to  the  praise  and 
glory  of  him  who  hath  saved  you  ?  Do  you  war 
against  all  sin  ?  Do  you  endeavour  all  obedience  ? 
Do  you  pray  to  God,  rejoice  in  him,  and  seek  con- 
verse with  him  ?  And  have  you  any  witness  that 
you  are  accepted  of  him  ? 


THE   SLEEP   OF   THE    DEAD.  421 

If  these  things,  or  any  goodly  number  of  them, 
are  iu  you;  then  you  may  hope,  through  infinite 
mercy,  to  be  among  the  throng  of  saved  souls. 

But  if,  on  the  contrary,  conscience  answers  no, 
to  these  interrogatories,  what  shall  I  say  to  you? 
shall  I  encourage  you  to  indulge  pleasing  thoughts 
of  death  and  eternity?  I  dare  not.  Fly  for  your 
lives  !  Tarry  not  in  all  the  plain !  Flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come.  Dying  in  your  present  condition, 
you  will  fall  into  a  double  death.  God  gives  you 
warning,  he  brandishes  his  sword  before  he  smites. 
He  removes  others,  when  he  might  as  easily  have 
removed  you.  Some  day,  he  may  remove  you  as 
a  warning. to  others.  Friends  and  comrades  will 
gather  around  your  coffin,  but  their  words  or 
thoughts  about  you  will  have  no  effect  on  your 
destiny.  At  that  moment  your  soul  will  be  either 
in  heaven  or  hell.  And  when  Christ  shall  come,  he 
will  not  bring  you  with  him.  You  will  indeed  have 
to  stand  before  him,  to  give  an  account  of  the  deeds 
done  in  the  body,  to  answer  for  all  your  Sabbaths, 
all  your  light  and  all  your  warnings.  You  will 
then  see  these  things  in  their  true  light ;  but  it  will 
be  too  late.  It  is  still  your  day  of  grace,  Christ's 
very  warnings  tell  you  so.  I  beseech  you,  lay  a 
good  foundation  for  time  to  come.  Believe  in  this 
Saviour  of  sinners,  that  you  may  be  safe  in  that 
day  of  alarm,  when  the  elements  shall  melt  with 
fervent  heat.  Kesolve,  with  God's  aid,  that  you 
will  be  of  that  company,  who  shall  have  washed 
their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 


422  CONSOLATION. 

Lamb.  I  am  conscious  of  the  reiteration  of  these 
entreaties  and  exhortations ;  but,  till  you  heed 
them,  what  can  I  do  but  reiterate  them  ?  O  be  per- 
suaded to  be  happy.  O  consent  to  be  safe.  O  resist 
no  longei  the  gracious  arm  that  would  lift  you  up  to 
heaven. 


ALL  CONSOLATION  TRACED  UP  TO  ITS 
DIVINE  SOURCE. 


XVIII. 

As  we  liave  pursued  the  various  topics  of  conso- 
lation which  reside  in  the  attributes,  the  cove- 
nant, and  the  promises  of  God,  in  their  application 
to  different  conditions  of  humanity,  we  have  been 
perpetually  led  to  observe  that  these  means  of  com- 
fort have  no  efl&ciency  of  themselves,  but  need  to  be 
impressed  upon  the  sufferer's  soul  by  an  omnipotent 
hand.  If  in  treating  our  subject  we  had  observed 
the  order  of  nature,  and  begun  with  the  cause,  we 
should  have  opened  our  subject  with  the  Fountain  of 
all  grace,  even  God  himself  We  have,  however, 
arrived  at  the  same  point  by  an  inverse  method, 
and  singling  out  some  of  the  numerous  streams,  have 
traced  them  up  to  the  divine  excellency  from  which 
they  flow.  But  this  deserves  our  more  particular 
consideration. 

In  much  of  the  foregoing  remarks  we  have  found 
occasion  to  make  reference  to  the  Apostle  Paul. 
There  is  scarcely  a  single  writing  of  his  preserved 
to  the  church  in  which  this  subject  is  not  touched. 
But  there  is  one  of  his  epistles,  namely,  the  second 
to  the  Corinthians,  in  which  he  more  fully  opens  the 
stores  of  Christian    consolation.     It  was  penned 


426  CONSOLATION. 

after  emerging  from  a  great  and  severe  trial,  in 
wliicli  lie  was  pressed  out  of  measure  above  strength, 
insomucli  that  he  despaired  even  of  life,  and  had  the 
sentence  of  death  in  himself  (2  Cor.  1 :  8,  9.)  These 
extraordinary  afflictions,  as  he  informs  us,  were  in- 
tended to  fit  him  for  the  delightful  work  of  consol- 
ing others.  "  And  whether  we  be  afflicted,"  says 
he,  "  it  is  for  your  consolation  and  salvation,  which 
is  wrought  in  the  enduring  of  the  same  suffer- 
ings which  we  also  suffer :  or  whether  we  be  com- 
forted, it  is  for  your  consolation  and  salvation." 
(1:6,  margin,')  And  in  recollection  of  what  he 
had  graciously  received,  he  breaks  forth  into  a  dox- 
ology,  which  contains  a  very  remarkable  expression : 
"  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Father  of  mercies,  and  the  God  or  all 
COMFORT !"  Although  this  is  introduced  by  us  only 
as  introductory  to  the  chief  subject,  it  certainly 
merits  a  moment's  regard.  When  God  is  here 
spoken  of  as  the  source  of  all  consolation,  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  he  is  so  exhibited,  not  in  his  essential 
or  his  rectoral  glory,  but  in  his  covenant  relation 
that  is,  as  the  "  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;"  justifying  what  we  have  had  repeated  occa- 
sion to  say  in  these  pages,  that  all  God's  mercies, 
and  all  his  comforts,  come  to  us  only  through  the 
channel  provided  by  the  plan  of  grace  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

That  God  is  the  great  Consoler  is  abundantly 
testified  by  the  Old  Testament,  which  in  all  its  parts 
is  a  consistent  pi'elude  and  anticipation  of  the  New 


GOD   THE   CONSOLER.  427 

To  establish  this  assertion,  we  might  cite  a  large 
portion  of  the  book  of  Psalms.  Every  parental 
heart  comprehends  and  feels  the  tender  figure,  when 
David  sings,  "  Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children, 
so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him.  For  he 
knoweth  our  frame  ;  he  remembereth  that  we  are 
dust."  (Ps.  103  :  13,  14.)  And  the  same  assurance 
is  presented  even  more  touchingly,  where  the  Lord 
thus  addresses  his  people:  "As  one  whom  his 
mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  comforted  in  Jerusalem."  (Is.  66  :  13.) 
This  special  work  of  fatherly  kindness  is  largely  set 
forth  in  the  prophecies.  "  For  the  Lord  shall  com- 
fort Zion,  he  shall  comfort  all  her  waste  places ;  and 
he  will  make  her  wilderness  like  Eden,  and  her 
desert  like  the  garden  of  the  Lord ;  joy  and  glad- 
ness shall  be  found  therein,  thanksgiving  and  the 
voice  of  melody."  (Is.  51  :  3.)  Without  resorting, 
however,  to  textual  proof,  we  cannot  fail  to  observe, 
from  the  patriarchal  days  downward  through  all  the 
tracts  of  the  Hebrew  annals,  how  benignant  a  re- 
gard the  Almighty  bestows  upon  his  suffering  ser- 
vants, and  how  ready  his  hand  is  to  wipe  away 
their  tears.  Yet  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  dur- 
ing all  this  preparatory  discipline  of  the  ancient 
church,  their  eye  is  directed  to  a  period  yet  future,  in 
which  divine  consolations  should  have  larger  scope. 
And  the  blessed  agencies  thus  indicated  are  seen 
to  centre  themselves  in  Him  who  is  "  the  desire  of 
all  nations."  It  has  frequently  been  remarked  by 
commentators,  that  the  hope  of  the  coming  Messiaa 


428  CONSOLATION. 

is  thrown  in,  upon  many  occasions,  precisely  where 
the  prospects  of  the  chosen  seed  were  most  envelop- 
ed in  darkness.  The  Messias  of  prophecy  character- 
izes himself  as  a  Consoler.  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
God  is  upon  me ;  because  the  Lord  hath  anointed 
me  to  preach  glad  tidings  unto  the  meek ;  he  hath 
sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to  proclaim 
liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  pris- 
on to  them  that  are  bound ;  to  proclaim  the  accept- 
able year  of  the  Lord,  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of 
our  God;  to  comfort  all  that  mourn;  to  appoint 
unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto  them 
beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the 
garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness ;  that 
they  might  be  called  trees  of  righteousness,  the 
planting  of  the  Lord,  that  he  might  be  glorified." 
(Is.  61  :  1,  2,  3.)  Accordingly,  when  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  in  the  fulness  of  time  made  a  public  demon- 
stration of  his  Messiahship  in  the  synagogue  of  Na- 
zareth, he  unrolled  the  sacred  scroll,  and  read  aloud 
this  very  prediction.  (Luke  4:16.)  And  the  whole 
series  of  his  words  and  his  benefactions  were  in  the 
spirit  of  this  prophetic  word. 

But  we  approach  more  touching  manifestations 
of  this  spirit  of  consolation  in  those  days  when 
the  cloud  of  his  mediatorial  sufferings  was  grow- 
ing more  dark,  and  he  was  about  to  be  separated 
from  his  disciples.  We  shall  here  find  a  new  aspect 
of  the  doctrine  which  may  properly  occupy  our 
thoughts  in  conclusion. 

After  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 


GOD  THE  CONSOLER.  429 

in  that  discourse  wliich  preceded  his  arrest  in  the 
garden,  our  blessed  Saviour  uttered  some  of  his  most 
remarkable  words  of  grace.  Among  these  one  great 
promise  stands  pre-eminent ;  it  is  in  these  terms : 
"  And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you 
another  comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for 
ever;  even  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  whom  the  world 
cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth  him  not,  neither 
knoweth  him ;  but  ye  know  him,  for  he  dwelleth 
with  you  and  shall  be  in  you.  I  will  not  leave  you 
comfortless  (orphans),  I  will  come  to  you.  These 
things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  being  yet  present 
with  you.  But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy 
Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he 
shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to 
your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto 
you."  (John  14  :  16,  17,  18,  25,  26.) 

For  the  satisfactory  understanding  of  this  de- 
lightful passage,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  give  espe- 
cial attention  to  its  principal  term.  Expressive  as 
is  the  word  Comforter,  it  does  not  reach  the  full 
comprehension  of  the  original.  Paraclete^  which  sig- 
nifies also  a  monitor  and  an  advocate.*     The  first 

*  The  verb  from  which  it  is  derived  means  to  call  upon,  to  admo- 
nish, and  to  exhort  in  the  way  of  consolation.  The  derivative  here 
cis3d,  YLapaKkr\To^^  is  therefore  an  advocate,  an  intercessor,  who  pleads 
the  cause  of  any  one  before  a  judge,  and  then  a  consoler  or  comforter. 
See  Robinson's  Lexicon.  The  word  Paraclete  has  been  freely  intro- 
duced into  the  elevated  language  of  all  Christian  churches.  It  earlj 
appeared  in  the  Latin  hymns  :  for  instance, 

Beata  nobis  gaudia 

Anni  reduxit  orbita. 

Cum  Spiritus  Paraclitus 

Illapsus  est  apostolis. 


430  CONSOLATION. 

observation  whicli  suggests  itself  is  that  this  pro- 
mised visitant  was  to  come  in  Christ's  stead.  "  These 
things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  being  yet  present 
with  you;  but  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy 
Ghost,  shall  teach,"  <fec.  That  is,  He  shall  come  in 
my  name  and  place.  And  there  are  unspeakable 
grace  and  fulness  in  this,  which  we  shall  not  duly 
estimate  unless  we  consider  what  the  actual  presence 
of  Jesus  conferred  on  the  disciples.  They  were 
''  the  children  of  the  bride-chamber,"  and  could  not 
mourn,  because  the  Bridegroom  was  with  them. 
He  was  to  them  an  ever-present  spring  of  consola- 
tion. Imperfect  as  were  some  of  their  views,  before 
the  resurrection  and  Pentecost,  they  were  neverthe- 
less with  Christ.  They  saw  his  countenance.  They 
witnessed  his  mighty  works.  They  heard  him  speak 
as  never  man  spake.  They  had  communication 
with  him.  They  enjoyed  his  love.  They  were  over- 
shadowed by  his  continual  protection.  If  sorrow 
sometimes  broke  forth,  there  was  a  hand  always 
near  to  wipe  away  their  tears.  He  was  himself 
their  personal  monitor,  advocate,  and  comforter. 
The  promise  is  one  which  intimates  a  gracious  sub- 
stitution, and  was  suited  to  that  moment  of  sorrow. 
How  much  they  were  confounded  by  the  tidings  of 
his  approaching  departure,  is  sufficiently  manifest 
from  the  words,  "  What  is  this  that  he  saith  unto  us, 
A  little  while  and  ye  shall  not  see  me :  and  again,  A 
little  while  and  ye  shall  see  me ;  and.  Because  I  go 
to  the  Father  ?"  (16 :  17.)    And  it  is  to  console  them 


GOD   THE   CONSOLER.  431 

under  this  expected  removal,  that  the  Comfoi-ter  is 
promised,  just  at  this  juncture. 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  here  unquestionably  proposed, 
as  able  and  willing  to  do  for  disciples  all  that  they 
would  seek  from  the  personal  presence  of  Christ. 
Our  Lord  expresses  this  most  strongly,  when  he 
represents  the  mission  of  the  Comforter  as  a  great 
reason  why  he  was  about  to  ascend  into  the  heavenly 
places.  "  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away ; 
for  if  I  go  not  away  the  Comforter  will  not  come 
unto  you;  but  ii  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto 
you."  (16 :  7.)  Ihey  should  not  lose,  but  gain,  by 
such  a  departure  of  our  Lord  to  the  completion  of 
his  mediatorial  work.  The  Spirit,  as  we  shall  pre- 
sently see  more  fully,  was  eminently  able  to  supply 
these  wants,  for  he  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  by  whom, 
as  man,  Jesus  himself  was  anointed  above  measure, 
and  endowed  for  his  work ;  by  whom  also,  in  their 
measure,  each  believer  is  endowed  and  anointed, 
receiving  from  his  fulness,  "and  grace  for  grace.*" 
We  are  therefore  authorized  to  believe,  that  the 
divine  Paraclete  fully,  gloriously,  and  increasingly, 
supplies  to  disciples  the  place  of  a  present  Jesus. 

Another  observation,  by  no  means  to, be  omit' 
ted,  is  that  the  promised  Comforter  is  to  come  from 
the  Father.  God  himself  is  the  author  of  this  con- 
solation ;  as  he  is  the  eternal  fount  of  all  excellency. 
But  it  is  not  as  Creator,  Preserver,  Sovereign,  or 
Lawgiver  that  he  now  acts,  but  as  the  God  of  grace 
and  redemption.  And  hence  we  are  led  anew  to 
admire  the  harmony  of  the  Divine  Persons.    The 


432  CONSOLATION. 

Holy  Spirit  is  not  a  creature,  however  exalted,  nor 
a  power,  nor  an  effluence,  nor  an  agency,  but  a  co- 
equal and  co-eternal  Person  in  the  Divine  essence. 
In  every  moment  of  the  mediatorial  work  the  Three, 
who  are  One,  are  equally  and  gloriously  operative 
towards  the  end  in  view  ;  but  according  to  a  myste- 
rious economy,  in  which  the  office  and  acts  of  each 
are  distinguished.  The  Comforter  is  the  Spirit  of 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  He  proceedeth  eternally 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son.  And  in  the  dispen- 
sation of  time,  he  is  sent  by  the  Father,  in  those  in- 
fluences which  are  needed  to  complete  the  work  of 
grace  in  believers.  The  adorable  Father  himself, 
"  our  Father  which  is  in  heaven,"  loves  us.  He  is 
especially  and  primarily  the  fountain  of  redeeming 
mercy ;  the  deviser  of  the  covenant,  the  giver  of  the 
Surety.  He  moreover  loves  his  people,  in  the  car- 
rying on  of  this  very  work ;  and  it  is  in  the  exercise 
of  an  eternal  and  ineffable  love  that  he  sends  the 
Holy  Spirit;  for  he  is  "the  God  of  all  comfort." 
This  should  dispose  us,  especially  in  times  of  trial,  to 
look  up  to  God  the  Father  with  unwavering  filial 
confidence.  Yet  these  manifestations  of  favour  ob- 
serve a  due  order,  and  are  connected  with  the  merit 
and  intercession  of  Him,  who  is  more  strictly  our 
Redeemer. 

This  will  be  more  apparent,  when  we  add  the 
observation,  that  the  promised  Comforter  is  to  come 
in  Christ's  name.  All  spiritual  blessings  so  come ; 
and  we  may  regard  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  all-com- 
prehensive blessing.     He  who  has  this  gift  has  all 


GOD   THE   CONSOLER.  433 

Now,  this  gift  is  bestowed  with  a  direct  reference  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "Whom,"  said  he,  "the 
Father  will  send  in  my  name."  We  have  already 
seen  that  he  comes  in  Christ's  place.  It  remains  to 
be  said,  that  he  comes  at  Christ's  request.  The 
Lord  assured  them  that  he  would  pray  the  Father 
for  this  gift.  For  our  blessed  Redeemer,  though  as- 
cended to  heaven  in  his  human  nature,  is  not  indif- 
ferent to  the  interests  of  his  people ;  "  seeing  he 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  'for  us."  Every 
benefit  of  the  covenant  which  we  receive  during  our 
whole  existence  is  the  result  of  Christ's  prevalent 
agency  for  us  in  the  court  of  heaven.  No  applica- 
tion of  the  righteousness  procured  by  his  suffering  and 
obedience  would  ever  be  made  but  for  the  perfect 
carrying  on  of  this  work  in  the  Holy  of  Holies,  be- 
yond the  vail  of  the  visible  heavens.  And  when, 
as  High  Priest,  he  bears  the  stones  of  the  breast- 
plate graven  with  the  names  of  the  holy  tribes,  he 
forgets  no  one  of  his  chosen,  but  looks  down  with 
an  individual  regard  on  each  of  his  people,  with  a 
wise  and  merciful  reference  to  every  particular  case 
of  want  or  affliction.  Nor  can  I  think  of  a  doctrine 
more  fraught  with  consolation,  if  properly  consider- 
ed, than  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  makes  each  of 
us  the  subject  of  his  prayers  in  heaven ;  unless  it  be 
this  further  limitation  of  the  same  truth,  that  what 
he  so  prays  for  is  nothing  less  than  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

When  it  is  said  that  the  Comforter  shall  be  sent 
in  Christ's  name,  the  meaning  unquestionably  is  that 
28 


434  CONSOLATION. 

he  shall  be  sent  in  consideration  of  Christ's  merits 
We  are  not  to  look  on  this  august  communication  as 
among  those  bounties  which  come  to  us  in  the  ordi- 
nary routine  of  common  providential  dispensations. 
There  would  have  been  no  sending  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  but  for  the  covenant  work,  the  righteous  de- 
serving, the  federal  subjugation,  and  the  atoning 
death  of  the  Son  of  God.  This  death  placed  the 
crown  of  glory  on  his  work  of  humiliation.  When, 
at  a  certain  tinae,  preaching  in  the  temple,  he  prom- 
ised this  blessing  under  the  beautiful  image  of  rivers 
of  living  water,  it  is  added  by  the  evangelist :  "  But 
this  spake  he  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believe 
on  him  should  receive :  for  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not 
yet  given ;  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified." 
(John  7  :  39.)  Some  communications  in  this  kind 
had  doubtless  been  made,  even  under  the  Old  Testa- 
ment dispensation;  but  the  moment  was  not  fully 
come  "  for  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit ;"  nor  could 
it  come  until  the  day  of  his  ascension  in  triumph 
unto  glory.  Let  it  then  be  fixed  in  our  minds,  that 
the  gift  of  the  Comforter  is  a  purchased  gift.  It  is 
the  desert  of  our  Lord's  mediatorial  obedience  unto 
death.  The  work  of  Gethsemane  and  of  the  cross 
must  precede  this  effusion.  So  felt  the  apostles  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  when,  after  visible  and  audi- 
ble tokens  of  this  presence,  Peter,  speaking  in  their 
name,  said,  "  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of 
God  exalted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father  ilie 
p'ornise  of  the  Holy  Ghost^  he  hath  shed  forth  this, 
which  ye  now  see  and  hear."     (Acts  2  :  33.)     In- 


GOD  THE   CONSOLER.  435 

deed  tlie  communication  of  tlie  Holy  Spiiit  is  but 
a  carrying  forward  in  heaven  of  the  work  which 
Christ  began  on  earth.  It  is  Christ  himself  working 
by  the  Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  his  people. 

An  equally  important  observation  is,  that,  even 
in  his  consoling  work,  the  promised  Spirit  comes  as 
a  teacher  and  monitor.  Not  only  "  is  all  truth,  in 
order  to  goodness ;"  but  it  may  be  added,  all  truth 
is  in  order  to  consolation.  Hence  we  read  concern- 
ing "  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures ; "  the 
solace  of  divine  truth.  This  connection  is  very 
obvious  in  the  promise,  "  He  shall  teach  you  all 
things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remambrance, 
whatscTever  I  have  said  unto  you." 

No  careful  reader  will  fail  to  observe,  that  this 
is  one  of  the  most  important  senses  in  which  the 
Holy  Spirit,  as  the  Paraclete,  was  to  supply  the 
place  of  Christ.  The  Lord  Jesus,  in  his  prophetic 
office,  was  the  teacher  of  his  disciples.  These  his 
personal  and  direct  instructions  were  valuable  and 
delightful  beyond  expression.  Grace  was  poured 
into  his  lips.  The  loss  in  this  respect  must  have 
seemed  irreparable,  and  all  human  instructors  must 
have  been  despicable  in  comparison.  Remembering 
how  he  spake,  we  may  be  almost  forgiven  if  we 
sometimes  regret  that  we  had  not  seen  one  of  these 
days  of  the  Son  of  Man.  But  that  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  once  did  with  his  own  lips,  he  now  and  hence- 
forth accomplishes  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  "  He  shall 
teach  you  all  things."  The  apostle  John,  ia  speaking 
of  false  and  seducing  teachers,  contrasts  with  them 


486  CONSOLATION. 

bhis  teaching  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  enjoyed  by  be- 
lievers. "  But  ye  have  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One, 
and  ye  know  all  things.  But  the  anointing  which 
ye  have  received  of  him  abideth  in  you,  and  ye 
need  not  that  any  man  teach  you ;  but  as  the  same 
anointing  teacheth  you  of  all  things,  and  is  truth 
and  is  no  lie,  and  even  as  it  hath  taught  you,  ye 
shall  abide  in  him."  (1  John  2  :  20,  27.)  Thus  we  are 
enabled  to  perceive  more  clearly  and  fully  how  the 
adorable  Spirit  comes  in  Christ's  name.  He  teaches 
what  Christ  taught.  He  takes  of  the  things  of 
Christ,  and  shows  them  unto  us.  From  the  infinite 
fund  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  of  which  he  is  the 
inspirer,  and  which  is  no  less  Christ's,  he  draVs  and 
dispenses,  according  to  the  diversified  necessities  of 
the  church.  It  is  scarcely  a  change  of  teacher.  The 
Spirit  gives  the  same  lesson.  He  repeats  and  re- 
vives it  ;  brings  out  afresh  in  the  chambers  of 
memory  the  characters  which  had  faded  on  the 
walls ;  and  touches  the  sluggish  heart  to  awaken  it 
to  new  impressions.  All  this  we  believe  to  be  by 
a  direct  infl.uence  on  the  soul ;  opening  the  recep- 
tive faculty,  pouring  in  light,  causing  knowledge, 
belief,  emotion,  and  will,  no  less  than  providing 
an  objective  revelation  in  the  scriptures.  There  is 
a  condescension  even  to  the  weakness  of  humar 
memory.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  truth  de 
rives  much  of  its  value  from  being  seasonable. 
Experience  testifies  that  a  doctrine  or  promise  of 
the  word,  long  neglected  or  forgotten,  may  be  so 
applied  in  a  moment  of  emergency,  by  the  Holy 


GOD   THE   CONSOLER.  431? 

Spirit,  as  to  diffuse  a  sudden  and  unspeakable  joy 
over  the  soul.  It  is  this  whicli  accounts  for  the 
difference  between  reader  and  reader,  between 
hearer  and  hearer,  and  between  different  states  of 
the  same  individual.  In  order  that  truth  be  effica- 
cious, especially  to  consolation,  something  more  is 
necessary  than  that  it  should  be  revealed;  some- 
thing more  than  that  it  should  be  apprehended  by 
the  natural  understanding ;  it  must  be  brought 
home  to  the  spiritual  perception  and  the  faith. 
And  to  do  this  is  the  especial  province  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  In  the  preceding  discourses  our  minds  have 
been  brought  into  the  presence  of  many  divine 
truths  which  are  suited  to  lift  up  the  heart  that  is 
cast  down;  but  this  effect  will  not  be  produced, 
except  so  far  as  the  Holy  Spirit  takes,  shows,  and 
impresses  them.  And  this  he  graciously  does  to 
many  a  broken-hearted  Christian. 

But  why  should  we  be  detained  from  that  which 
after  all  is  the  great  import  of  these  divine  commu- 
nications ?  The  promised  Spirit  is  sent  to  believers, 
as  a  Comforter,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the 
word.  This  it  is  which  brings  the  subject  more 
particularly  within  the  scope  of  the  present  investi- 
gation. It  is  the  "  God  of  all  comfort,"  in  the  per- 
son of  the  adorable  Spirit,  pouring  his  consolations 
over  the  sorrowing  heart.  For  the  T\'ords  of  Jesua 
had  failed  of  their  application  if  this  Ihid  not  been 
included.  The  disciples  were  in  unexampled  grief; 
sorrow  had  filled  their  hearts  ;  they  were  expecting 
orphanage  and  desolation.    That  which  the  benig- 


438  CONSOLATION. 

nant  Redeemer  promises  tliem  is  a  Comforter;  and 
this  it  is  wHcIl  we  all  need.  It  is  into  a  world  of  siglis 
and  teal's,  from  manifold  and  multiform  calamity,  and 
into  a  cliurcli  wliicli  through  much  tribulation  presses 
on  towards  the  kingdom,  that  this  divine  Visitant 
deigns  to  come. 

The  primary  mode  of  communicating  consolation 
has  been  already  pointed  out.  It  is  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  truth.  This  truth,  as  to  the  matter  of 
it,  is  not  a  new  revelation ;  but  the  Spirit  takes  of 
the  things  of  Christ  and  shows  them  to  us.  Tliis 
truth  is  summed  up  in  the  canon  of  Scripture ;  and, 
therefore,  the  word  of  Grod  is  beyond  all  other  vol- 
umes the  Book  of  Consolation.  Though  neglected 
in  days  of  prosperity,  and  seasons  of  religious  de- 
clme,  it  is  sure  to  be  open  on  the  tables  and  in  the 
hands  of  sorrowing  disciples.  The  disposition  to  fly 
to  the  Bible  in  hours  of  trouble  is  so  strong  and 
constant,  that  it  may  be  denominated  an  instinct  of 
the  new  nature.  Not  more  naturally  does  the  new- 
born babe  turn  to  the  fount  of  infant  nutrition. 
And  the  testimony  of  all  Christian  mourners  is,  that 
at  these  wells  of  salvation  they  have  found  refresh 
ment  and  solace.  It  would  be  next  to  death  to  re- 
move the  Scriptures  from  a  burdened  saint.  But 
though  persecution  has  often  removed  the  letter  of 
the  external  volume,  the  Holy  Spirit,  even  in  dun- 
geons, has  awakened  the  inward  ear  of  the  sufferer, 
and  brought  to  remembrance  the  words  of  this 
life. 

The  truth  which  we  have  been  last  considering, 


GOD   THE   CONSOLEE.  439 

is  clearly  taught  in  those  words  of  the  Apostle  Paul, 
in  which  he  says,  "  Now  the  God  of  hope  fill  you 
with  all  peace  and  joy  in  believing,  that  ye  may 
abound  in  hope  through  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  (Rom.  13  :  3.)  Here  the  consolation  is 
very  distinctly  ascribed  to  belief  of  the  truth.  This 
truth,  as  containing  the  plan  of  salvation  for  lost  sin- 
ners, is  denominated  the  Gospel,  or  good  tidings ; 
and  as  such  it  is  made  to  rejoice  the  believer's  heart 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  Christian  life.  To  a 
soul  properly  exercised,  all  its  truths  are  consola- 
tory, and  more  and  more  so  as  progress  is  made  in 
divine  things.  As  the  views  of  divine  truth  become 
more  clear  and  comprehensive,  the  comforts  of  the 
Spuit  become  more  abiding,  agreeably  to  what  we 
attempted  to  lay  down  in  treating  of  Hope  and  Joy 
in  the  Lord. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  remember,  that  di- 
rect and  large  and  believing  views  of  precious 
Christian  doctrines,  concerning  God,  Christ,  salva- 
tion, and  heaven,  are  the  principal  means  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  uses  for  the  support  of  the  soul,  even  un- 
der heavy  afflictions.  On  this  head  serious  errors 
are  prevalent.  First,  the  thoroughly  worldly  man, 
having  treasure  and  heart  in  the  present  life,  neither 
desires  nor  seeks  any  portion  but  that  which  is  car- 
nal ;  and  if  this  is  taken  away,  he  is  like  Micah  of 
old  when  bei'eft  of  his  gods.  Remaining  in  this  con- 
dition, he  is  utterly  insusceptible  of  any  spiritual 
relief  from  the  chosen  means  of  the  great  Consoler. 
He  lacks  all  taste  and  relish  for  those  divine  reali' 


440  CONSOLATION- 

ties  which  are  angels'  food.  Under  sudden  and 
alarming  strokes  of  providential  judgment,  he  is 
sometimes  stupefied  and  sometimes  frantic ;  and 
when  the  storm  of  rebellious  passions  lulls  itself  to 
rest,  he  murmurs  awhile,  like  the  tempest-tossed 
Dcean,  and  then  subsides  into  the  calm  of  unbeliev- 
mg  security.  In  all  this  there  is  no  operation  of 
comforting  truth.  Secondly ;  the  partially  enlight- 
ened believer,  as  yet  inexperienced  in  these  lessons 
of  the  heavenly  Monitor,  is  at  first  greatly  surpri- 
sed by  the  access  of  severe  chastening.  The  mode 
in  which  divine  comforts  are  communicated  is  as 
yet  unknown  to  him.  He  looks  for  removal  of  the 
rod  as  the  only  relief  which  can  suffice ;  and  for  a 
time  his  earnest  supplications  go  out  in  this  direc- 
tion. If,  for  example,  he  has  been  impoverished, 
he  expects  some  indemnity  in  kind.  If  some  griev- 
ous burden  is  laid  upon  him,  he  hopes  that  it  may 
be  removed ;  and  it  is  only  after  repeated  trials  that 
he  learns  the  method  of  grace.  But  thirdly,  the 
ripe  Christian,  long  tried  in  the  school  of  sorrows,  is 
made  to  know  that  the  soul  may  be  comforted 
amidst  the  very  billows.  In  some  unexpected  mo- 
ment divine  illumination  reveals  to  him  the  great 
abiding  truths  of  the  spiritual  world ;  truths  which 
are  as  precious  and  as  satisfying,  in  adverse  as  in  pros- 
perous days.  By  a  process  of  holy  attraction,  his 
thoughts  are  drawn  away  from  self  and  all  its  inte- 
rests and  losses,  to  be  fixed  and  absorbed  by  the 
character  of  God,  by  his  mighty  works,  by  the  per* 
son  of  the  Eedeemer,  by  the  work  of  redemption. 


GOD  THE   CONSOLER.  441 

by  the  progress  of  the  kingdom,  and  by  the  glory 
yet  to  be  revealed.  Filled  and  animated  and  tran- 
quillized by  these,  he  is  led  to  forget  his  private 
griefs ;  and  thus  the  Comforter  performs  his  ojffice 
by  means  of  the  truth.  "  The  things  of  Christ," 
applied  to  the  inner  sense,  direct  the  mind  from  its 
earthly  pangs,  and  to  a  certain  extent  afford  a  pre- 
libation  of  the  celestial  joy. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  might  readily  be 
anticipated,  that  the  processes  by  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  forms  the  soul  to  holiness,  do,  at  the  same 
time,  conduce  to  its  consolation.  Here  the  work  of 
the  Sanctifier  and  the  w^ork  of  the  Comforter  really 
coalesce.  Sin  is  a  disorder  of  the  human  powers, 
in  which  their  harmony  is  destroyed,  and  the  result 
is  the  turbulence  of  wretched  passions.  If  this  dis- 
cord were  not  limited,  it  would  become  absolutely 
hellish ;  and  such  is  in  part  the  penal  woe  of  the 
eternal  torment.  "  There  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God, 
to  the  wicked."  But  every  step  in  sanctiiication  is 
a  restitution  in  measure  to  the  primitive  harmony 
and  peace  of  man.  And  this  work  cannot  go  on 
without  a  proportionate  augmentation  of  happiness. 
To  arrive  at  consolation  we  must  be  made  more 
holy. 

Nothing  is  more  evident  than  that  those  graces 
which  are  denominated  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  are 
in  their  very  nature  modes  of  happiness.  No  man 
can  possess  them  without  a  diminution  of  suffering. 
Some  of  them  are  directly  consolatory,  because  they 
strike  at  the  very  root  of  our  inward  disquietudes 


442  CONSOLATION. 

"  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suf 
fering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temper- 
ance." (Gal.  5:22,  23.)  "For  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit  is  in  all  goodness,  and  righteousness,  and 
truth."  (Eph.  5  :  9.)  For  instance.  Faith,  by  rea- 
lizing to  the  soul  the  divine  truths  which  we  have 
been  considering,  carries  it  away  above  its  sufferings, 
and  so  consoles ;  while  we  look  not  at  the  things 
which  are  seen,  which  are  temporal,  but  at  the 
things  which  are  not  seen,  which  are  eternal.  Good 
ness,  or  evangelical  benevolence,  is  delightful  in  its 
very  acts ;  and  we  never  so  forget  our  own  sorrows 
as  when  we  are  endeavouring  to  increase  the  happi- 
ness of  our  neighbour.  Gentleness  diffuses  a  blessed 
calm  over  the  nature.  Love  is  the  atmosphere  of 
heaven;  Long-suffering  and  Meekness  counteract  all 
those  distresses — and  they  are  innumerable — which 
arise  from  pride,  anger,  and  revenge.  Joy,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  drives  out  the  soul's  pains  by  the 
expulsive  power  of  a  new  dominant  affection.  And 
Peace  is  but  the  scriptural  name  for  the  entire  result 
of  combined  holy  satisfactions  in  the  heart.  When 
the  promised  Spirit  enters  into  a  soul,  and  produces 
these  its  fruits,  it  does,  in  the  same  degree,  tend  to 
dispel  troubles,  and  is  the  efficient  cause  of  consola- 
tion amidst  the  greatest  fight  of  afflictions. 

We  might  here  enlarge  upon  the  comforting 
effects  produced  by  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and  the 
assurance  of  God's  love  ;  but  this  has  already  been 
made  the  subject  of  a  separate  discourse.  Let  us 
rather  bestow  a  few  thoughts  upon  the  enduring 


GOD   THE   CONSOLER.  443 

nature  of  this  spiritual  influence.  It  is  found  in  these 
clauses  of  the  promise :  "  For  he  dwelleth  with  you, 
and  shall  be  in  you ;"  "  And  he  shall  give  you  an- 
other Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for 
ever."  Their  Lord  was  about  to  be  removed  from 
them,  in  respect  to  his  personal  presence,  and  they 
were  filled  with  sorrow.  He  promises  them  a  Con- 
soler, who  should  never  be  removed.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  precious  truths  of  our  holy  religion,  that 
the  Spirit  of  grace  is  not  merely  a  guest  or  visitor, 
but  a  perpetual  inhabitant.  This  is  true  in  regard 
both  to  the  collective  body  of  saints,  who  are  a  tem- 
ple of  the  Lord,  and  to  the  individual  believer. 
Both  were  prefigured  by  the  constant  residence  of 
Jehovah,  with  the  manifested  Shekinah,  in  the  tab- 
ernacle and  the  temple.  "  I  will  dwell  among  the 
children  of  Israel,"  said  the  Lord,  "  and  will  be  their 
God."  (Exod.  29  :  45.)  He  is,  therefore,  addressed 
as  dwelling  between  the  cherubim,  that  is,  in  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  above  the  golden  propitiatory  of  the 
ark.  The  temple  was  typical  of  the  New  Testament 
church,  "  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles 
and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief 
corner  stone ;  in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed 
together,  groweth  unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord ; 
in  whom  ye  also,"  says  Paul  to  the  Ephesians,  "  are 
builded  together,  for  a  habitation  of  God  through  the 
Spirit."  (2  :  20,  21,  22.)  And  to  other  Christians  of 
primitive  days,  "Ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God; 
as  God  hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in 
them ;  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my 


444  CONSOLATION. 

people."  (2  Cor.  6  ;  16.)  Nor  is  this  inhabitation 
confined  to  Christians  as  a  collective  church ;  for 
the  same  apostle  says,  with  individual  application, 
'*  Wha-*:. !  know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Holy  Grhost  which  is  in  you,  which  ye 
have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your  own  ?"  (1  Cor. 
6  :  19.) 

There  is  something  at  once  dreadful  and  de- 
lightful in  this  indwelling  of  the  Holy  One  in 
hoiiises  of  clay.  It  is  dreadful  to  be  so  near  that 
divine  glory,  before  which  the  Seraphim  veil  their 
faces.  The  argument  hence  derived  against  the 
abuse  of  the  body  to  purposes  of  sin,  is  natural  and 
cogent.  It  is  on  the  other  hand  delightful  to  con- 
sider, that  the  source  of  all  holiness  and  comfort  is 
within  us,  if  we  belong  to  Christ.  The  promised 
Comforter  has  made  his  shrine  in  our  very  bodies, 
and  possesses  our  souls  with  his  presence.  He  can- 
not be  ignorant  of  our  condition,  and  no  trial  can 
befall  us  without  his  permission,  as  there  is  also  no 
sorrow  which  he  cannot  assuage.  This  is  felt  with 
unutterable  peace  when  the  Divine  witness  testifies 
within  the  soul.  "And  hereby  we  know  that  he 
abideth  in  us,  by  the  Spirit  which  he  hath  given  us." 
(1  John  3  :  24.) 

While,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is  a  perpetual  in- 
dwelling of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  soul  of  the  true 
believer,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  the  manifesta- 
tions of  his  consoling  attributes  are  equal  at  all  times. 
On  the  contrary,  as  he  keeps  his  throne  in  this 
palace  of  his  choice,  so  he  exercises  his  sovereignty 


GOD  THE   CONSOLER.  445 

in  regard  to  tlie  time  and  tlie  degree  of  his  joy- 
giving  disclosures  There  are  various  stages  of  ad- 
vancing comfort,  and  sometimes  there  are  decays 
and  eclipses  of  the  beatific  light.  Nevertheless^  the 
Spirit  of  grace,  by  whom  we  are  sealed  unto  the 
day  of  redemption,  is  never  absent,  and  never  in- 
accessible. It  is  sometimes  his  pleasure  to  shine 
forth  with  splendour  from  amidst  the  tempf-stuous 
cloud ;  and  his  chief  triumphs  of  consolation  often 
gleam  from  the  falling  ruins  of  his  frail  sanctuary,  in 
the  hour  of  dissolution.  Happy  would  it  be  for  us, 
if  we  could  always  maintain  an  unwavering  persua- 
sion as  to  the  reality  and  the  greatness  of  this  in- 
habitation of  God  through  the  Spirit.  It  would 
confer  a  dignity  of  which  we  now  kno,-/  too  little 
upon  the  whole  tenor  of  a  Christian  life.  Tempta- 
tion would  be  disarmed  by  the  sense  of  such  a  pre- 
sence, and  we  should  tremble  at  the  thought  of 
grieving  one  so  great  and  yet  so  near.  The  current 
philosophy  of  this  world  disallows  the  existence  of 
all  these  spiritual  facts,  which  are  matters  of  pure 
revelation,  and  loves  to  dwell  in  the  realm  of  bare 
phenomena,  seemings,  or  appearances.  Yet  to  one 
whose  mental  eye  has  been  purged  of  its  film,  and 
who  is  raised  "  above  the  stir  and  smoke  of  this  dim 
spot,  which  men  call  earth,"  there  is  nothing  more 
substantially  true  than  the  reality  and  presence  of 
this  divine  and  blessed  Paraclete.  And  when  by 
long  habits  of  holy  contemplation  the  human  spirit 
has  acquired  the  sacred  art  of  turning  inward,  re- 
sorting to  the  most  holy  place,  and  consulting  the 


446  CONSOLATION. 

Urim  and  Thummim  of  divine  communications,  these 
trutlis  begin  to  establish  themselves  as  articles  of 
faith,  sources  of  peace,  and  principles  of  action.  Can 
we  then  too  earnestly  crave  the  presence  of  the  Com- 
forter in  our  souls  ?  Or  can  we  any  longer  be  in- 
different to  the  means  whereby  we  may  receive 
more  of  his  consoling  suggestions  ? 

When  we  spoke  of  Divine  Truth,  as  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hand  of  the  Spirit,  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  work,  we  really  indicated  one  of  the 
principal  ways  in  which  to  seek  this  great  blessing. 
If  we  would  be  comforted,  we  must  seek  it  by  the 
truth.  The  Comforter  is  the  Spirit  of  Truth.  The 
consoling  process  is  carried  on  by  the  application  of 
truth.  In  all  which  we  find  a  very  strong  argu- 
ment for  making  ourselves  early  familiar  with  the 
Scriptures.  Afflictions  come  with  so  little  warn- 
ing, that  it  is  a  part  of  our  Christian  forecast  to 
have  knowledge  in  store,  against  the  time  of  need. 
Our  very  acquaintance  with  the  Divine  Consoler 
himself,  is  derived  solely  from  the  revealed  word ; 
and  there  also  we  learn  the  methods  of  Providence 
and  the  grounds  of  consolation. 

If,  as  has  been  already  observed,  the  Holy 
Spirit  works  our  comfort  by  means  of  our  sanctifi- 
cation,  then  holiness  must  be  reckoned  among  the 
means  of  Christian  enjoyment,  and  we  should  seek 
our  solace  in  conformity  to  God's  will.  Excluding 
every  self-righteous  or  pharisaic  assumption  on  this 
subject,  we  may  nevertheless  say  in  a  safe  sense, 
that  God  will  not  pour  so  rich  a  balsam  into  an 


GOD  THE   CONSOLER.  447 

impure  TesseL  It  is  no  part  of  his  gracious  plan  to 
comfort  us  in  our  sins.  The  very  pains  and  fears 
into  which  his  good  providence  casts  us  are  occa- 
sioned by  our  delinquencies,  and  are  chastisements 
for  our  faults.  The  way  of  return  is,  therefore,  by 
the  thorny  path  of  contrition  and  repentance.  Nor 
do  backsliding  disciples  usually  find  themselves  re- 
stored to  favour,  until  they  have  done  their  "  first 
works,"  and  passed  afresh  through  exercises  like 
those  which  first  brought  them  to  Christ.  We  may 
state  the  truth  therefore  with  some  generality,  that 
genuine  consolation  is  not  to  be  looked  for  inde- 
pendently of  increased  hohness. 

The  conclusion  which  ought  to  be  drawn  is,  that 
he  who  leads  a  worldly  life  under  a  Christian  pro- 
fession is  in  a  most  unfit  state  to  grapple  with  great 
trials.  To  him  they  will  be  sore  surprises,  "  as  snow 
in  summer  and  as  rain  in  harvest."  They  will  arouse 
him  at  midnight,  as  when  besiegers  suddenly  break 
upon  a  city  without  gates  or  walls.  We  have 
been  called  to  witness  such  experiences,  when  some 
poor  carnal  professor  has  been  driven  up  from  his 
resting-place  and  cast  into  utter  discomfiture.  It  is 
well  for  such,  if  the  rod  in  God's  hand  is  made  the 
means  of  bringing  them  back  to  holy  living.  For 
as  it  is  altogether  uncertain  in  what  hour  or  instant 
the  dart  may  pierce  us  in  the  most  sensitive  spot,  it 
is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  be  always  in  a  condition 
suited  to  receive  divine  communications,  and  in  a 
posture  in  which  it  shall  be  easy  to  roll  our  burden 
on  the  Lord.     And  in  the  very  height  of  afflictive 


448  CONSOLATIOIf. 

visitations,  wten  all  God's  waves  and  billows  go 
over  tlie  soul,  tlie  method  of  seeking  relief  is  tlie 
same;  we  return  to  peace  only  by  returning  to 
God. 

Before  leaving  the  means  of  attaining  religious 
consolation,  we  must  name  the  most  important  of 
all.  It  is  indicated  in  those  words  of  our  blessed 
Lord :  "  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give 
good  gifts  unto  your  children;  how  much  more 
shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  his  Holy  Spirit  to 
them  that  ask  him?"  (Luke  11  :  13.)  It  is  dif 
ficult  to  conceive  of  greater  encouragement  to  pray 
for  this  gift  than  is  afforded  by  this  promise  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  comparison  which  he  uses 
goes  home  at  once  to  the  parental  heart.  The  be- 
nefit which  he  offers  is  plainly  exhibited  as  the  great- 
est ;  for,  indeed,  if  God  gives  us  his  Holy  Spirit,  he 
gives  us  all  that  is  requisite  to  our  comfort  here  and 
our  salvation  for  ever.  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  according  to 
his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a 
lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  incorruptible  and  unde- 
filed,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for 
you  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith 
unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time, 
wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  though  now  for  a  season, 
if  need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness  through  manifold 
temptations." 

THE  END. 


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